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Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood

In humans, physiological outputs of the body’s internal clock (i.e., saliva, serum, and temperature) can be collected to quantify the timing of the circadian system. In-lab assessment of salivary melatonin in a dimly lit environment is a common approach for adolescents and adults; however, the relia...

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Autores principales: Hartstein, Lauren E., Wong, Sachi D., Abbas, Leen, Choubai, Sophia, Wilson, Jonah N., Jablin, Trace, LeBourgeois, Monique K.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9944519/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36810846
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep5010009
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author Hartstein, Lauren E.
Wong, Sachi D.
Abbas, Leen
Choubai, Sophia
Wilson, Jonah N.
Jablin, Trace
LeBourgeois, Monique K.
author_facet Hartstein, Lauren E.
Wong, Sachi D.
Abbas, Leen
Choubai, Sophia
Wilson, Jonah N.
Jablin, Trace
LeBourgeois, Monique K.
author_sort Hartstein, Lauren E.
collection PubMed
description In humans, physiological outputs of the body’s internal clock (i.e., saliva, serum, and temperature) can be collected to quantify the timing of the circadian system. In-lab assessment of salivary melatonin in a dimly lit environment is a common approach for adolescents and adults; however, the reliable measurement of melatonin onset in toddlers and preschoolers requires a modification of laboratory methods. For > 15 years, we have successfully collected data from ~250 in-home dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) assessments of children aged 2–5 years. Although in-home studies of circadian physiology may introduce a host of challenges and may increase the risk of incomplete data (e.g., accidental light exposure), in-home studies afford more comfort (e.g., less arousal in children) and flexibility for families. Here, we provide effective tools and strategies to assess children’s DLMO, a reliable marker of circadian timing, through a rigorous in-home protocol. We first describe our basic approach, including the study protocol, collection of actigraphy data, and strategies for training child participants to complete procedures. Next, we detail how to convert the home into a “cave”, or dim-light environment, and present guidelines for timing the salivary data collection. Lastly, we provide helpful tips to increase participants’ compliance based upon behavioral and developmental science tenets.
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spelling pubmed-99445192023-02-23 Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood Hartstein, Lauren E. Wong, Sachi D. Abbas, Leen Choubai, Sophia Wilson, Jonah N. Jablin, Trace LeBourgeois, Monique K. Clocks Sleep Article In humans, physiological outputs of the body’s internal clock (i.e., saliva, serum, and temperature) can be collected to quantify the timing of the circadian system. In-lab assessment of salivary melatonin in a dimly lit environment is a common approach for adolescents and adults; however, the reliable measurement of melatonin onset in toddlers and preschoolers requires a modification of laboratory methods. For > 15 years, we have successfully collected data from ~250 in-home dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) assessments of children aged 2–5 years. Although in-home studies of circadian physiology may introduce a host of challenges and may increase the risk of incomplete data (e.g., accidental light exposure), in-home studies afford more comfort (e.g., less arousal in children) and flexibility for families. Here, we provide effective tools and strategies to assess children’s DLMO, a reliable marker of circadian timing, through a rigorous in-home protocol. We first describe our basic approach, including the study protocol, collection of actigraphy data, and strategies for training child participants to complete procedures. Next, we detail how to convert the home into a “cave”, or dim-light environment, and present guidelines for timing the salivary data collection. Lastly, we provide helpful tips to increase participants’ compliance based upon behavioral and developmental science tenets. MDPI 2023-02-20 /pmc/articles/PMC9944519/ /pubmed/36810846 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep5010009 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hartstein, Lauren E.
Wong, Sachi D.
Abbas, Leen
Choubai, Sophia
Wilson, Jonah N.
Jablin, Trace
LeBourgeois, Monique K.
Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title_full Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title_fullStr Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title_full_unstemmed Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title_short Creating the Cave: Conducting Circadian Science in Early Childhood
title_sort creating the cave: conducting circadian science in early childhood
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9944519/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36810846
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep5010009
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