The Consortium of Sleep Psychology created one of the largest research studies on campus, focused on the relationship between sleep and obesity.
They received a National Institute of Health (NIH) R15 grant, which provided the funding necessary to train undergraduate students in research. More than 50 students are now involved, and the study began running participants in winter 2025.
This cross-sectional study is investigating whether certain brain activities that occur during sleep can influence participants' behavior during the day.
Kara Duraccio, a psychology professor passionate about sleep and obesity, explained the logistics behind what researchers are observing.
“We're looking at these neural processes that are happening within certain brain regions, inhibitory or more executive control regions and reward regions, and we're trying to see how that impacts the next day or daytime behavior,” Duraccio said.
Daniel Kay, a professor of psychology and neuroscience, expanded on the process.
“Rather than taking sort of a whole brain approach … we're looking at the specific brain patterns while they're asleep, in those brain areas we know are related to obesity risks,” Kay said. “So it's a very exciting protocol, and it's great that the NIH recognized the value of what we're offering.”
In the grant, professors argued that research in sleep psychology typically happens too late in students' academic careers. They hope the grant will give undergraduates research opportunities that set them up for success.
“We want to spark that curiosity all the way back when they’re undergrads,” Duraccio said. “When we wrote this grant, we were like, ‘We want to start this grant with the undergrads in mind.’”
Sara Stewart, a senior majoring in psychology, said the study offers many opportunities for students to be trained in their areas of interest.
She said students work with melatonin onset testing, MRIs, overnight sleep studies and cognitive testing. She said the study is providing students with valuable and rare experiences in the psychology field.
“Once you've worked long enough, you can actually help lead a project that's going to get presented at conferences, national conferences and eventually get published as a paper,” Stewart said.
The study has three different arms looking at adolescents, young adults and older adults. Research is conducted throughout the day and often occurs late at night.
“When you study sleep, you don't sleep,” Stewart said.
Stewart said one of her favorite parts of the study has been seeing the excitement among participants. She shared some of their responses when asked why they wanted to get involved.
“They're just like, ‘Oh, I want to know more about my sleep, and I'm super interested in this and I want to help sleep psychology fields become a bigger thing,’” Stewart said.
One of the most beneficial results of the grant is that BYU is now becoming a leader in sleep psychology, and professors involved are excited to further their research.
“It really is putting BYU on the map as a central place where the big ideas in sleep psychology are coming from,” Kay said. “And really driving innovation in the field, and really even just making it a field.”
This study will continue for at least three more years, and professors and students alike hope the data they gather will shed light on the connection between sleep and obesity.