KDH Research & Communication (KDHRC), a local research institute, is conducting a study that tracks teenagers’ sleep, with the goal of finding ways to improve it. Many Midtown students have volunteered as test subjects.
Kristen Holtz, Midtown parent and president of KDHRC, became interested in an experiment like this after the pandemic, when she noticed how much of a disruption there was in teenagers’ sleeping patterns.
“There was a lot in academic literature about the impact that the pandemic had, the stress related to the impact and the social routine disruptions of the impact had on people’s quality of sleep,” Holtz said. “It was particularly pronounced among teens because teens historically have always had a hard time sleeping because of the biological push to stay up later, but the societal push to get up earlier. The pandemic really seemed to drop the amount of sleep that kids were getting.”
In the study, all participants downloaded an app KDHRC developed called Personalized Approach to Health — Sleep, or PATH-S. The intention of the app is to help educate about proper sleep and plan to best optimize rest. Additionally, each participant received a Fitbit watch to help them track their sleeping patterns and keep track of the data, which will be collected in the next month or so.
“We ask them about how well they sleep, what they know about sleep habits, and a lot of other things that are related to sleep, like some health behaviors,” Holtz said. “The Fitbit helps them track their sleep quality, how long they sleep, when they go to sleep and when they wake up. Then, we are going to use the data from check-ins we make along the way with the teens in the study to ask them their impressions of the app. We’re going to use data about how much they use the app, what parts of the apps they use, and we’re going to look at their sleep data, too. Basically, our question is whether or not the app helps them sleep better and develop better knowledge about sleep habits and better sleep habits overall.”
Participants are already excited about how the study might benefit them and are interested in learning more, says sophomore and participant Juniper Yood.
“It’s only just started, so I’m not really sure how much of a difference PATH-S has made yet, but I love using it so far,” Yood said. “I’m really excited about this study because I dance and play ultimate frisbee. I know how much good sleep helps my performance, and I think this will help me out a lot.”
AP Psychology teacher Andrew Copeland believes tracking is beneficial to creating better habits and becoming more knowledgeable about how day-to-day habits can affect someone in the long run.
“I think it is good to have visual data to see, ‘I’m getting this much REM sleep,’” Copeland said. “I do think seeing the data in front of you like that can lead you to make better decisions. It’s kind of like step tracking. Because people are tracking their steps and it’s this thing that you’re not aware of, but all of a sudden, you’re tracking it, so it gives you kind of something to focus on. It helps you understand that maybe you’re not getting enough sleep and what you can do to get that better. You can also find out if you have some kind of sleep disorder, like sleep apnea, because you’re not sleeping well at night.”
Over the course of the next few weeks, the volunteers are expected to continue to wear their Fitbits and consistently learn from and utilize the PATH-S app. Once all the data is collected, KDHRC can make adjustments and continue to test until their program is optimal for public use.
“I hope that my participation will make a difference, and that this will actually help teenagers in the future,” Yood said. “I think that everyone is so busy all the time that we overlook sleep, but that really needs to change.”
