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Characterise Sleep Patterns Across AsiaACROSSNCT07577882

Cross-cultural Differences In Sleep Patterns And Problems in Asian School-aged Adolescents: The ACROSS Study

An observational study of Characterise Sleep Patterns Across Asia and Examine Barriers to Sleep, run by National University of Singapore.

Not yet recruiting

Opening soon. The study is approved but enrolment has not started yet. Sites may already take enquiries.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

Sleep problems are common in adolescents. Studies have consistently demonstrated that sleep disturbances are prevalent, affecting up to 50% of this population. In this project, the investigators aim to map out sleep patterns, risk factors, and obstacles for sleep in adolescents, capturing the diversity of societal… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 12 to 18 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
How many people
15,000 participants
Where
No sites listed yet
Study dates
Jul 2026to Dec 2026
Phase
Observational
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 12 to 18 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child, Adult

Study population: School-going adolescents aged 12-18 years old will be invited to participate.

Who may be able to join

  • School-going adolescents aged 12-18 years old

Who cannot join

  • Nil.

Trial locations and contacts

No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Rachel Chan contact

About this study

Sleep problems are common in adolescents. Studies have consistently demonstrated that sleep disturbances are prevalent, affecting up to 50% of this population. In this project, the investigators aim to map out sleep patterns, risk factors, and obstacles for sleep in adolescents, capturing the diversity of societal factors that shape the sleeping habits of adolescents. The investigators aim to recruit school-aged adolescents (aged 12-18 years old) in 12 countries across 15 research centres (N = 1000 per centre) to fill in the questionnaire covering sleep-wake patterns, sleep problems, mood, behavioral, daytime functioning and their attitude and perception towards sleep.

Read the detailed description

Introduction Sleep problems are common in children and adolescents. In particular, extensive evidence consistently demonstrated that sleep disturbance is prevalent affecting up to 30% of this population. The situation is worrying as expanding body of evidence has demonstrated the close relationship between inadequate sleep and daytime impairment, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular complications, disruptive behaviors, mental health and poor academic performance.

There is a web of interactive factors that contribute to sleep disturbance including biological, social, and cultural factors. For example, during adolescence, teenagers experience a circadian delay in their sleep, leading to a delayed bedtime and this sleep pattern is further exacerbated by increasing technology usage. In addition, cultural influences also play a significant role in their sleep. Mindell and colleagues compared sleep patterns between Asian and Caucasian young children and found that Asian children had significantly later bedtimes and shorter total sleep time as well as different parental perceptions towards their children's sleep problems. A similar trend was also evident among adolescents with Asian teens consistently having later bedtimes, earlier wakeup times and shorter sleep than their Caucasian counterparts. The difference in sleep patterns and sleep habits not only existed between Asian and western countries, but discrepancies were also observed within the Asian countries. A previous study that compared sleep duration between children in Hong Kong and Shanghai revealed that Hong Kong children have later bedtimes and wakeup times as well as shorter sleep than Shanghai children, particularly during weekdays.

Although there is evidence supporting the cultural influence on adolescent sleep-wake patterns, most of the studies are country specific which do not allow adequate cross-cultural comparison. Importantly, substantial cultural, religious, and economic differences exist within and between countries in Asia. A more comprehensive coverage of different countries in Asia will allow for a better understanding of specific sleep patterns in relation to the rich cultural variety across the Asian region.

Moreover, previous studies utilized different inventories, various age groups, and different measurement methods. The variations in methodology make it difficult to make an accurate comparison between different cultures. Identifying the similarities and differences in sleep patterns/problems as well as associated factors across various regions, will allow us to have a more thorough understanding of their sleep, which is an important step in devising countermeasures for mitigating this concerning situation.

In view of the above-mentioned limitations of previous studies and the necessity of multicenter collaboration (15 research centres across 12 countries), the aim of the current study (ACROSS study) is to gather sleep researchers from various Asian countries in order to:

  1. To conduct a sleep survey in Asian adolescents
  2. To explore the Cultural differences in sleep patterns and problems
  3. To evaluate the Risk factors associated with sleep problems
  4. To understand the Obstacles to obtain adequate sleep
  5. To promote health Sleep in Schools

Methods Participants Participants will be recruited through schools, public advertisement, poster and emails in Asian countries. Adolescents aged 12-18 years old will be invited to complete the questionnaire either in online form or in paper form. The administration of the questionnaire will be conducted during school-term avoiding the exam period.

Participants will be invited to fill in the questionnaire covering the following aspects:

  1. Demographics: gender, age, height, weight, education ethnicity, and religion etc. Parental education, employment status and socioeconomic class will be assessed.
  2. Sleep patterns and problems: sleep wake patterns, napping habits, various sleep symptoms, chronotype will be covered
  3. Mental wellbeing: Mood symptoms will be assessed using Patient Health Questionnarie-2; Anxiety measured by General Anxiety Disorder-2, Stress by Perceived Stress Scale-4, and also overall health status
  4. Lifestyle factors: Time spent on different activities such as electronic media use, physical activities, homework, entertainment etc. will be collected
  5. Attitude and perception towards sleep: Adolescent's perception towards different sleep conditions will be assessed. Parent and school practice related to sleep measure/issues will also be assessed.
Keywords
Adolescents, Sleep, Cross-cultural

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Sleep duration

    Sleep duration (nocturnal sleep and nap sleep) on weekdays and weekends is probed in the questionnaire.

    Measured: At enrollment

  2. Sleep timing

    Bedtime and wake time on weekdays and weekends is probed in the questionnaire.

    Measured: At enrollment

  3. Patient Health Questionnarie-2

    A 2-item tool used to screen for depression by assessing the frequency of depressed mood and anhedonia over the past two weeks. It includes the first two items of the PHQ-9, with scores ranging from 0 to 6. A score of 3 or more is considered the cut-off point for identifying potential depression.

    Measured: At enrollment

  4. Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2

    A brief, two-item screening tool used to detect generalized anxiety disorder, with a recommended cut-off score of 3 or higher. A score of 3+ indicates a likely anxiety disorder, suggesting the need for further, more comprehensive assessment.

    Measured: At enrollment

  5. Perceived Stress Scale-4

    The Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4) is a 4-item questionnaire, a shortened version of the PSS-10, designed to measure the degree to which situations in life are appraised as stressful over the past month. Scores range from 0 to 16, with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress.

    Measured: At enrollment

  6. Time spent on various activities in a day

    Lifestyle factors are assessed using a question asking participants to report the amount of time in a day spent on different activities such as electronic media use, physical activity, homework, and leisure time / entertainment. Participants report the amount of time spent in hours and minutes.

    Measured: At enrollment

  7. Attitude and perception towards sleep

    Adolescent's perception towards sleep, as well as parent, peer, and school practice relating to sleep, are probed using questions such as "My parents think finishing my homework is more important than sleep", "My friends encourage me to stay up late to study", "My teachers encourage me to sleep enough", "I believe sacrificing sleep to get more work/study done is necessary". Participants are to indicate how strongly they agree or disagree with these statements.

    Measured: At enrollment

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted11 May 2026
  2. Study startJul 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completionDec 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completionDec 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Observational
Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Cross-sectional
Enrolment
15,000 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07577882
Sponsor's protocol ID
ACROSS study
Acronym
ACROSS
Status last verified
Jun 2026
First submitted
24 Apr 2026
Last updated
15 Jun 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Short MA, Gradisar M, Lack LC, Wright HR, Dewald JF, Wolfson AR, Carskadon MA. A cross-cultural comparison of sleep duration between US And Australian adolescents: the effect of school start time, parent-set bedtimes, and extracurricular load. Health Educ Behav. 2013 Jun;40(3):323-30. doi: 10.1177/1090198112451266. Epub 2012 Sep 14.

    PubMed 22984209
  • Olds T, Blunden S, Petkov J, Forchino F. The relationships between sex, age, geography and time in bed in adolescents: a meta-analysis of data from 23 countries. Sleep Med Rev. 2010 Dec;14(6):371-8. doi: 10.1016/j.smrv.2009.12.002. Epub 2010 Mar 6.

    PubMed 20207558
  • Mindell JA, Sadeh A, Kohyama J, How TH. Parental behaviors and sleep outcomes in infants and toddlers: a cross-cultural comparison. Sleep Med. 2010 Apr;11(4):393-9. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2009.11.011.

    PubMed 20223706
  • Zhang J, Li AM, Fok TF, Wing YK. Roles of parental sleep/wake patterns, socioeconomic status, and daytime activities in the sleep/wake patterns of children. J Pediatr. 2010 Apr;156(4):606-12.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2009.10.036. Epub 2009 Dec 21.

    PubMed 20022339
  • Schmidt RE, Van der Linden M. The Relations Between Sleep, Personality, Behavioral Problems, and School Performance in Adolescents. Sleep Med Clin. 2015 Jun;10(2):117-23. doi: 10.1016/j.jsmc.2015.02.007. Epub 2015 Mar 12.

    PubMed 26055859
  • Dahl RE. The impact of inadequate sleep on children's daytime cognitive function. Semin Pediatr Neurol. 1996 Mar;3(1):44-50. doi: 10.1016/s1071-9091(96)80028-3.

    PubMed 8795841
  • Owens J; Adolescent Sleep Working Group; Committee on Adolescence. Insufficient sleep in adolescents and young adults: an update on causes and consequences. Pediatrics. 2014 Sep;134(3):e921-32. doi: 10.1542/peds.2014-1696.

    PubMed 25157012
  • Biggs SN, Lushington K, van den Heuvel CJ, Martin AJ, Kennedy JD. Inconsistent sleep schedules and daytime behavioral difficulties in school-aged children. Sleep Med. 2011 Sep;12(8):780-6. doi: 10.1016/j.sleep.2011.03.017. Epub 2011 Aug 20.

    PubMed 21862401

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

An observational study of Characterise Sleep Patterns Across Asia and Examine Barriers to Sleep, run by National University of Singapore.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 1 inclusion and 1 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Stijn Massar (+65 66015238, stijnmassar@nus.edu.sg), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Sleep duration (time frame: At enrollment). The study lists 7 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07577882, which also lists 8 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Jun 2026.

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