Sleep, circadian rhythms and mental health in schools: new MRC Engagement Award
Published: 28 June 2018
IHW researchers have been awarded an Engagement Award from the MRC to set up a new consortium focused on sleep and mental health in schools
A collaboration led by Professor Daniel Smith (PI) and co-investigators Dr Jo Inchley, Dr Breda Cullen, Dr Laura Lyall and Dr Sharon Simpson has secured £100k in funding to establish the “Sleep, circadian rhythms and mental health in schools” (SCRAMS) consortium.
Other consortium members include the University of Edinburgh, University of Oxford, Surrey University, Goldsmith’s College London and University College Dublin. Building on the success of the SHINE (Schools Health and Wellbeing Improvement Research Network) SCRAMS will establish a UK-wide multidisciplinary consortium to investigate sleep, light exposure, circadian function and mental health in adolescents within SHINE schools.
With input from pupils, parents and teachers, SCRAMS will design and carry out a programme of public engagement and conduct a series of feasibility studies to inform more comprehensive studies in the future. These studies will find the most effective way to collect objective sleep and mental health data, light exposure data (both natural light and artificial light), and biological samples in adolescents within schools. A key aspect will be seasonal changes in exposure to daylight according to school location and latitude (from the Shetland Islands to the Scottish Borders).
First published: 28 June 2018
- Prof Daniel Smith profile
- SHINE