Teen sleep, body clocks, and motivation (CARRS)
Center for Adolescent Reward, Rhythms and Sleep (CARRS)
Looks at how changes in sleep and internal body clocks affect teens' motivation, risk-taking, and chances of using substances.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11198094 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project focuses on how teen sleep patterns and circadian rhythms (your internal body clock) relate to reward-driven behaviors like risk-taking and substance use. Researchers run studies with adolescents and complementary rodent experiments to link sleep changes to brain, molecular, and behavioral outcomes. For teens, this means wearing sleep trackers, keeping sleep diaries, answering questionnaires about mood and behavior, and sometimes taking part in lab-based tests of reward responses. Findings are used together with animal work to understand causes and to guide practical steps like school start times and nighttime device use.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants are adolescents and teens—especially those with short or irregular sleep, circadian misalignment, or concerns about risk-taking or substance use.
Not a fit: Adults outside the adolescent age range or teens with normal sleep and no risk factors for substance use are less likely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to better sleep-related guidelines, school policies, and interventions that reduce teens' risk of substance use and improve mental health.
How similar studies have performed: Previous research has shown that delaying school start times and improving sleep can help teens sleep more and reduce some risk factors, but linking sleep changes directly to substance use and the underlying biology is still emerging.
Where this research is happening
Pittsburgh, United States
- University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mcclung, Colleen a — University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh
- Study coordinator: Mcclung, Colleen a
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.