How sleep length affects immune balance in urban children with asthma

Impact of Sleep Duration on Immune Balance in Urban Children with Asthma

NIH-funded research Rhode Island Hospital · NIH-11176097

The project changes how long urban children with asthma sleep to measure effects on their immune system and asthma symptoms.

Quick facts

Grant typeR01 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionRhode Island Hospital NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Providence, United States)
Project IDNIH-11176097 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

Your child would join a 4-week program where they follow different nightly sleep schedules while the team monitors asthma symptoms and immune markers from blood and other samples. The study enrolls about 204 urban children ages 8–9 with persistent allergic asthma who start with typical 9–11 hours of sleep. Each child completes scheduled weeks of shorter and recovery sleep so researchers can compare immune signals (like Th2 and inflammatory cytokines) and asthma activity within the same child. Study visits happen at the hospital for measurements and sample collection and sleep is tracked at home.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal candidates are urban children ages 8–9 with persistent allergic asthma who currently get about 9–11 hours of sleep and can follow scheduled sleep changes and attend hospital visits.

Not a fit: Children outside the 8–9 age range, those without allergic asthma, or those unable to follow the sleep schedule or attend visits are unlikely to benefit from this study.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the work could show that improving sleep helps restore immune balance and reduce asthma problems in urban children.

How similar studies have performed: Prior experimental work in healthy adults found sleep loss raises inflammatory and some Th2 cytokines and that recovery sleep can restore balance, but this experimental approach is novel for urban children with asthma.

Where this research is happening

Providence, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.