University of Westminster study: Effect of Sleep on Cognitive Function

The study is now complete and no more volunteers are required. Alessia has asked us to pass on her thanks to all the people who responded.

We've retained some of the original study information below for those who are interested

Participant Information

You are being invited to participate in a research study which investigates the effect of sleep on cognitive functioning. This study compares two groups of males and females, one at the age of 65 years and older, the other group at the ages between 20 and 30 years.

As sleep quality has a major effect on health and wellbeing, it is interesting to investigate explicitly which impact it has on cognitive functioning, such as attention, planning and memory, for example. As sleep patterns are also known to change throughout an individual’s lifetime, it is interesting to see sleep effecting cognitive function in different age groups.

In this study you will need to:
- participate in a short interview and introduction to the study
- continuously wear a sleep monitor for 7 consecutive days
- fill out a sleep questionnaire for one week
- take a test of cognitive functioning when returning your sleep monitor

Sleep Monitor:
The sleep monitor is comparable to a wristwatch and can easily be worn without interfering in everyday activities. It needs to be worn on the non-dominant hand, which is the hand you DO NOT write with. It is waterproof and can be worn under the shower, in the bath or when swimming. It can also be worn when going to the sun bed. In this study it is necessary to observe your activity during the entire 7 days and it is very important that you do not remove the sleep monitor at any time.

Sleep Questionnaire:
The sleep questionnaire is very short and straightforward. In order to observe your sleep in detail, it is necessary that you fill out your sleep questionnaire every day. It is advisable to fill out the questionnaire in the morning, immediately after awaking. This way, it will be easiest for you to remember events of the previous evening and the previous the night.

Please note:
- Participation is entirely voluntary.
- You have the right to withdraw at any time without a given reason.
- You have the right to ask for your data to be withdrawn as long as it is practical, and for your personal information to be destroyed.
- Your responses will be treated with confidentiality. No individuals will be identifiable from the collected data, written research report or any publications arising from it.
- All personal data will be kept in a locked cupboard on University premises.
- If you wish, you can receive information on the results of this research.
- The University is fully insured for all research activities.
- The researcher can be contacted after participation by email.

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