How late-night social messaging affects teens' sleep and suicidal thoughts
Social Media Use, Sleep, and Suicidality in Adolescents
This project sees if late-night online messaging shifts sleep schedules in teens (ages 12–20) and raises the chance of suicidal thoughts or behaviors.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Brown University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Providence, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11160664 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be followed over time while your late-night social messages, sleep, and mood are tracked. The team will extract message timing and content, use brief in-the-moment phone surveys (EMA) to record mood and thoughts, and collect sleep data from a wearable device. These streams of data will be combined with predictive algorithms to map how late-night messaging relates to delays in sleep and increases in suicidal thinking, especially in the evenings. The goal is to use what they learn to design timely supports or adapt therapies that focus on sleep and daily routines.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are teens aged 12–20 who regularly use online social messaging and are willing to complete brief phone surveys and wear a sleep-tracking device.
Not a fit: Younger children, adults, or teens who do not use online social messaging or who cannot use a smartphone or wearable are unlikely to benefit from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help identify teens at higher suicide risk earlier and lead to timely supports or sleep-focused treatments that reduce that risk.
How similar studies have performed: Prior research links sleep disruption and social media to teen suicide risk, but combining real-time message text extraction with wearables and EMA is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
Providence, United States
- Brown University — Providence, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nugent, Nicole R — Brown University
- Study coordinator: Nugent, Nicole R
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.