# DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIMODAL MOBILE SLEEP INTERVENTION USING WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE HEAVY DRINKING IN YOUNG ADULTS

> **NIH NIH R34** · YALE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $240,781

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) onset peaks during young adulthood. Young adults report more frequent, heavier
alcohol use than older adults and experience substantial negative consequences (e.g., accidental injury) and
risk of developing a chronic AUD. Current young adult alcohol intervention strategies, however, have modest
effects. To address this gap, we propose to develop a novel, mobile sleep intervention for heavy-drinking
young adults. Sleep may be a useful treatment target for this population for several reasons. Poor sleep is
common among young adults who drink heavily and an AUD risk factor. Young adults are also interested in
information to help them sleep better. Further, as a standard practice, behavioral sleep interventions address
alcohol use and may provide a gateway for intervening on alcohol use. We conducted a preliminary test of a
mobile sleep intervention in 42 heavy-drinking young adults. The primary components were: (1) brief, web-
based sleep hygiene advice including the standard advice to moderate drinking for better sleep and (2) daily
web-based sleep and alcohol self-monitoring plus wearing a sleep/wake activity tracker daily. Our results
demonstrated promising effects on drinking and sleep. The next phase of intervention development involves
testing our intervention components compared to matched control conditions and whether a new component
suggested by participants in post-treatment interviews further improves outcomes. Specifically, participants
indicated a preference for personalized feedback about their sleep diary and tracker data and the connections
with alcohol use. Additionally, exciting new alcohol biosensor technology has emerged that allows continuous
tracking of blood alcohol level and provides an objective measure of participant alcohol consumption. Through
this technology we can provide personalized alcohol-sleep interaction feedback using both objective
sleep/alcohol trackers and sleep/alcohol diary data. The current proposal will develop and test a mobile
sleep/alcohol self-monitoring + sleep/alcohol data feedback intervention in 120 heavy-drinking young adults. All
participants will wear sleep and alcohol trackers daily. The primary intervention will include: (1) web-based
sleep hygiene advice + sleep/alcohol diary self-monitoring + sleep/alcohol data feedback. This condition (n=60)
will be compared to the matched control conditions that only include these components: (1) web-based sleep
hygiene advice (n=30) or (2) web-based sleep hygiene advice + sleep/alcohol diary self-monitoring (n=30). The
primary objective is to evaluate sleep intervention component feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy
on alcohol outcomes to inform a Stage II randomized trial comparing the final sleep intervention with a
standard alcohol intervention. This study is in line with NIAAA’s strategic interest to identify novel targets to
improve alcohol prevention and intervention efforts for young people. Ulti...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9923513
- **Project number:** 5R34AA026021-03
- **Recipient organization:** YALE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** LISA M FUCITO
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $240,781
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2021-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9923513

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9923513, DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIMODAL MOBILE SLEEP INTERVENTION USING WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY TO REDUCE HEAVY DRINKING IN YOUNG ADULTS (5R34AA026021-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9923513. Licensed CC0.

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