Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) awarded Emory University $248,705 under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837) for a project investigating the relationships between naturalistic light exposure and sleep regularity. This three-year research initiative, initiated February 2, 2026, and concluding January 31, 2029, addresses critical gaps in understanding how environmental factors—specifically light exposure—influence sleep patterns and their downstream cardiometabolic health outcomes. The research builds upon the 2021 NIH Sleep Research Plan priorities regarding environmental exposures' effects on sleep and epigenetic mechanisms underlying sleep and circadian health.

The deliverables from this research program encompass four key objectives: (1) investigation of which dimensions of light exposure impact sleep regularity with consideration of modifying factors such as age and sex; (2) development of biological markers for identifying sleep regularity patterns; (3) validation and establishment of temporality of findings using prospectively collected data; and (4) expansion of light and environmental factor measurement through prospective data collection. The project is designed to establish an independent research program centered on how light and environmental exposures affect sleep and chronobiology in population health, with findings intended to inform cost-effective, non-invasive public health interventions and disease prevention strategies targeting irregular sleep as a modifiable risk factor for cardiometabolic disease.