Sleep problems and next-day suicidal thoughts in youth receiving intensive psychiatric care
Official title: Examining the Association Between Sleep Deficiencies and Suicidal Ideation in Peripubertal Youth Receiving Intensive Psychiatric Services: A Multi-Modal Approach
Funded at University of Rhode Island · NIH-11259520 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether nights with short, irregular, or poor-quality sleep are followed by more suicidal thoughts in peripubertal and adolescent youth getting intensive psychiatric services.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Rhode Island NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Kingston, United States) |
| Project start | January 15, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $39,851 |
| NIH project number | 5R36MH139327-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11259520 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are peripubertal and adolescent youth receiving intensive psychiatric services who have recent suicidal thoughts, severe mood symptoms, or notable sleep problems.
✕Less likely to help
Children without sleep problems, people not in intensive psychiatric care, or those outside the targeted peripubertal/adolescent age range are unlikely to gain direct benefit from this project.
What this research studies
If you or your child are in intensive psychiatric care during the peripubertal period, researchers will ask you to complete daily sleep and mood diaries and to wear a wrist sensor that passively records sleep and heart rate. The team will compare nights with insufficient, irregular, or low-quality sleep to reports of suicidal thoughts the next day. They will also consider factors like depression symptoms, pubertal stage, sex, and past adversity to see how these change the sleep–suicidality link. This combines real-world daily reports with objective sleep tracking to capture short-term changes in risk.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal sleep patterns that predict short-term spikes in suicidal thoughts, paving the way for timely, sleep-focused prevention strategies.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research has linked sleep problems and suicidal thoughts mainly in adults or with long follow-up periods, so day-to-day, device-based work in peripubertal youth is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hernandez Valencia, Evelyn Michelle — University of Rhode Island
- Study coordinator: Hernandez Valencia, Evelyn Michelle
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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.