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NCT Number: NCT07322276

Effects of Exercise Timing on Sleep Quality

Modern lifestyles are marked by a prevalence of sedentary behaviors and physical inactivity, which have been linked to numerous adverse health effects. While regular physical exercise is a well-established countermeasure, exercising in the late afternoon may paradoxically disrupt deep sleep due to increased core body temperature. Inactive and sedentary individuals, who often have impaired autonomic function compared to endurance-trained athletes, may be particularly susceptible to these negative effects, potentially resulting in compromised thermoregulation and exacerbated disruptions to deep sleep, a critical stage of sleep essential for overall recovery. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of aerobic exercise performed in the late afternoon versus morning on: 1) deep sleep and sleep onset latency; and 2) core body temperature and its autonomic regulatory mechanisms on endurance-trained and inactive-sedentary people.

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Key information

Conditions

Healthy Endurance Athlet Dyssomnias Inactive People Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Sleep Disorders, Intrinsic Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders Sleep Wake Disorders

Age range

18 year–30 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Chu Saint-Etienne

Saint-Etienne, 42055, France

Location status: Recruiting

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Group "Inactive" :No regular exercise practice (inactive people that don't follow the WHO recommendations) and have sedentary behaviors
  • Group "Active": Regular exercise (athletes that are specialized in aerobic exercise, with more than 300 minutes per-week over 6 months and practice at regional level).

Exclusion criteria

  • Have sleep disorders medically diagnosed or detected by sleep forms cutoffs (clinical insomnia by ISI, severe risk of obstructive sleep apnea by Stop-Bang, bad sleep quality by PSQI.
  • Have a diagnosed mental health condition requiring treatment
  • Have renal, respiratory, cardiovascular or neuromuscular disease medically diagnosed.
  • Be pregnant or breastfeeding

Treatment and study plan

Aerobic Exercise

Other

The exercise consists of running on a treadmill at 90% of maximum aerobic speed (MAS) for 30 minutes, followed by 12% increments every 5 minutes, until exhaustion (a "time-to-exhaustion" type of exercise).

Primary outcomes

  1. Duration of deep slow-wave sleep

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Evaluation of the duration of deep slow-wave sleep (N3 stage) quantified by the EEG signal from polysomnography (Nox A1, Resmed®, USA).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Assessment of core temperature

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Assessment of core temperature until the end of the sleep period will be measured using gastrointestinal telemetric pills (eCelsius, Bodycap®, France).

  2. Evaluation of autonomic nervous system thermoregulation

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Evaluation of autonomic nervous system thermoregulation through time-domain (R-R intervals in ms)

  3. Evaluation of autonomic nervous system thermoregulation

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Evaluation of autonomic nervous system thermoregulation through frequency- domain parameters (in Hz)

  4. Complementary sleep evaluation

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Complementary sleep evaluation through analysis of duration of N1, N2, and REM stages (in Percentage of Total Sleep Time)

  5. Complementary sleep evaluation

    Time frame: Once a month for 3 months

    Complementary sleep evaluation through characteristics of slow waves present in N3 (amplitude in microvolts)

Interested in participating?

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Interested in participating?

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Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Saint Etienne

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Effects of Exercise Timing and Physical Activity Level on Sleep Quality and Body Temperature

Acronym: SLEEPCORE

Important dates

Study start
2026
Primary completion
2029
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jan 7, 2026
Registry last updated
Jun 3, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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