# Mind-Body Interventions to Mitigate Effects of Media Use on Sleep in Early Adolescents

> **NIH NIH R61** · SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL · 2020 · $443,586

## Abstract

Project Summary
Mind-body interventions decrease state arousal in a variety of settings and populations,1-10 which presents
a novel scientific and public health opportunity for use in a harm reduction framework. Evening media use
in youth is a significant risk for sleep problems,11-17 largely mediated by increased state arousal.17,18
Eliminating media use is neither feasible at a public health level nor perhaps even desirable given the role it
plays in the lives of youth and adults,19 but mind-body interventions have the potential to mitigate state
arousal effects and thus reduce negative impacts on sleep. Given emerging literature on links between
intensive media use, sensory and interoceptive awareness, and self-regulation, we propose to study two
related mind-body approaches: mindfulness sensory awareness exercises to increase sensory and
interoceptive awareness,20 and mindful body awareness check-ins to guide media use choices. In order
to optimize this approach, we will examine the effects of these mind-body strategies independently, jointly,
and in combination with other strategies to mitigate the effects of media use on sleep, including amber
glasses to block short wavelength light during evening media use, avoiding content with high vigilance
demands or violence, and external controls to time-out media access.
 Prior studies are limited by unrealistic interventions, artificial setting, exposure classification, and
subjective measures,21 leaving important but closeable gaps in the science. Direct measurement of state
arousal in youth in the ecologically valid home environment via heart rate variability, electrodermal activity,
and self-report in youth in a mind-body intervention is highly innovative. Given the high prevalence evening
media use, the known short and long-term adverse sequelae of sleep problems, and the lack of current
intervention strategies acceptable to youth, the proposed research also has the potential for strong and
broad public health impact. Next steps require a deeper understanding of the mechanistic effects of state
arousal in interventions to mitigate the harm of media use. We will employ a Multiphase Optimization
Strategy (MOST), an innovative, evidence-based approach to using rigorous, experimental methods to
optimize multicomponent behavioral interventions prior to evaluation, making it especially appropriate for
the R61/R33 mechanism and the proposed intervention. In the R61, we will use an experimental crossover
design in a 26-2 fractional factorial matrix to optimize the mechanistic efficacy of the intervention, and a 3-
arm randomized trial in the R33 to use those findings to optimize intervention effectiveness. Both phases
will enroll youth age 10-14 years with evening media use most nights and behavioral sleep problems.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9789834
- **Project number:** 5R61AT009859-02
- **Recipient organization:** SEATTLE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Michelle Marian Garrison
- **Activity code:** R61 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $443,586
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-25 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9789834

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9789834, Mind-Body Interventions to Mitigate Effects of Media Use on Sleep in Early Adolescents (5R61AT009859-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-14 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9789834. Licensed CC0.

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