# Reducing sedentary behavior to improve sleep: an ancillary study to the RESET BP clinical trial

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $384,267

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Disturbed sleep, and especially insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is highly prevalent and associated
with increased risk for elevated blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, despite the
substantial public health burden of disturbed sleep, standard treatments are often limited by poor adherence,
inadequate availability, and/or significant side effects. As such, identification of alternative approaches to mitigate
disturbed sleep is greatly needed. In contrast to increasing engagement in exercise, we propose that reducing
sedentary behavior (SED), or time spent sitting, is a novel and feasible approach to reduce sleep disturbance.
Preliminary evidence from our group indicates that greater SED is associated with worse sleep quality and
greater OSA severity, and our pilot data suggest that short-term SED reduction improves sleep continuity (i.e.,
reduced wakefulness after sleep onset [WASO]). Given our group's work demonstrating the impact of disturbed
sleep on behavior modification and the relationship between disturbed sleep and BP, we also propose that
disturbed sleep at baseline could blunt the adherence to attempted SED reduction and impact its cardiovascular
health benefits. Therefore, the goal of this ancillary study application is to test the hypotheses that SED reduction
will improve sleep and that the presence of disturbed sleep at baseline will reduce the effectiveness of SED
reduction efforts by adding comprehensive sleep assessments to an ongoing randomized clinical trial that is
examining the effect of SED reduction on BP. In this parent trial, 300 desk workers with elevated BP are
randomized to a 3-month multicomponent behavioral intervention aimed at replacing 2-4 hr/day of SED with
light-intensity activity or a 3-month no-contact control condition. In the remaining sample of the parent trial
(estimated to be N=210 by the start of the ancillary study), we will assess sleep at baseline and post-intervention
using 7 nights of wrist-worn actigraphy and 1 night of home-based polysomnography (PSG), yielding objective
measures of sleep quality (WASO), total sleep time (TST), OSA severity (apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]), and
sleep depth (slow-wave sleep [SWS]). We will evaluate the effect of the SED reduction intervention on
actigraphy-assessed WASO (primary outcome) and TST and PSG-assessed AHI and SWS (Aim 1). We will also
examine the effect of disturbed sleep at baseline on subsequent SED reduction and BP improvement (Aim 2).
Results from this ancillary study, which efficiently leverages an ongoing and well-functioning clinical trial, will
have a significant impact on behavioral sleep medicine recommendations, as it will provide new insight into
whether SED reduction is a viable approach for reducing sleep disturbance. Moreover, these findings will inform
the continuing development of SED guidelines and help optimize future SED reduction interventions by
evaluating whether sleep distu...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9899321
- **Project number:** 5R01HL147610-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** Christopher Edward Kline
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $384,267
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-04-01 → 2023-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9899321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9899321, Reducing sedentary behavior to improve sleep: an ancillary study to the RESET BP clinical trial (5R01HL147610-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9899321. Licensed CC0.

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