Abstract Body:
Introduction: Sleep duration is a metric of cardiovascular health included in AHA’s Life’s Essential 8. Half of adolescents sleep less than the recommended 8 hours on school nights; youth from minoritized populations are particularly at risk. Optimizing sleep quality early in life is crucial to reducing CVD risk. This was an exploratory pilot study of “REST” (Reinforcing Essentials of Sleep for Teens), a comprehensive educational program designed to support healthy sleep in teens in two major urban areas.

Methods: High school students from NYC and Los Angeles ages 14-18 were enrolled in REST’s 6-wk program. Educational content consisted of 6 modules covering key contributors of poor sleep in teens: bedtime procrastination, sleep environment, and electronics use. Adolescents and their parents met with a master's level health educator weekly for individual sessions and later received electronic video brochures containing educational videos to reinforce learned concepts. Sleep quality was assessed via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Assessment of Sleep Environment (ASE) was used to assess physical sleep environment (e.g., noise, light, etc). Video brochure analytics summarized average openings, viewing time, and time/day of viewing to assess participant engagement.

Results: Twelve adolescents completed the pilot program (mean age 17.2, 66.6% male, 75% from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds). At baseline, adolescents slept a mean(SD) of 7h 14min (1h 24min)/night, had a mean(SD) PSQI score of 5.33 (2.2) and mean(SD) ASE score of 11.58 (5.7). One-quarter of teens had poor sleep quality (PSQI≥5) and 58.3% had moderate/high ASE scores (≥10), indicating poor sleep environment. Video brochure analytics over 6 wks showed highest engagement in afternoons (28%) and evenings (28%). Engagement was higher on weekdays (59%) compared to weekends. While mean(SD) video length was 1:43 (0:28) min, average viewing time was 1:16 min.

Conclusions: In this pilot educational program, moderately problematic physical sleep environments, poor overall sleep quality, and short sleep durations were frequently reported among adolescents at baseline. Video brochure engagement metrics suggest that teens may be motivated to learn how to improve their sleep as part of their after-school weekday routine. Shorter-length videos may be more effective in maintaining participant attention. Larger studies are needed to determine the REST program’s acceptability and effectiveness.