by Melanie Brunson
Remember the sleep study that many ACB members took part in a few years ago? Did you get the chance to participate? No? Well, now you may have the chance to participate in another sleep study! Another effort to research the relationship between visual impairment and sleep disturbance is just getting under way, and I am hopeful that readers of "The Braille Forum" will assist the researchers. The rest of this article is devoted to a description of their project.
Are you blind? Do you have problems sleeping or trouble with daytime sleepiness? You can help researchers understand non-24-hour sleep wake disorder by taking a brief phone survey and possibly participating in a future clinical study.
Non-24-hour sleep wake disorder occurs in some individuals who are totally blind and lack the photic sensitivity necessary to reset the "body clock" via light exposure. This can lead to problems with sleep and/or daytime excessive sleepiness.
Survey participants need to:
- be over 18 years of age
- be blind with no light perception
- have sleep problems and/or daytime sleepiness
Collected information will be kept strictly confidential.
For each completed survey, a donation of $25 up to $50,000 will be made to the American Council of the Blind.
If you want to participate in the survey, please call 1-877-314-5002 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern. Thank you!