The University of Arizona Sleep and Development Lab studies environmental and behavioral factors affecting sleep and circadian health in children and adolescents, including light exposure, screen media use, and melatonin supplements. We utilize measures of behavior (actigraphy, cognitive tests, sleep and media diaries) and physiology (salivary melatonin, pupillometry) to answer fundamental questions about children’s circadian physiology, as well as to develop and test interventions to improve young children’s sleep and circadian health.
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Lauren E. Hartstein, PhD Dr. Hartstein is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Dr. Hartstein completed her B.A. in Psychology at Vassar College and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Developmental Science at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She received training in the non-visual impacts of the lighting environment at the Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in child sleep and circadian physiology with Dr. Monique LeBourgeois at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research interests are focused on questions of how the modern built environment impacts children’s sleep and circadian rhythms across development.
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Research Projects
We are in the process of getting new studies off the ground. Stay tuned for more details soon!
Recent Publications
2024
Hartstein, L.E., LeBourgeois, M.K., Durniak, M.T., Najjar, R.P. (2024). Differences in the pupillary responses to evening light between children and adolescents. Journal of Physiological Anthropology. Link
Hartstein, L.E., et al. (2024). The impact of screen use on sleep health across the lifespan: A National Sleep Foundation consensus statement. Sleep Health: Journal of the National Sleep Foundation, 10(4): 373-384. Link
Hartstein, L.E., Garrison, M.M., Lewin, D., Boergers, J., Hiraki, B.K., Harsh, J.R., LeBourgeois, M.K. (2024). Factors contributing to U.S. parents’ decisions to administer melatonin to children. Sleep Medicine, 114: 49-54. Link
Hartstein, L.E., Garrison, M.M., Lewin, D., Boergers, J., LeBourgeois, M.K. (2024). Characteristics of melatonin use among US children and adolescents. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(1): 91-93. Link
2023
Hartstein, L.E., Wong, S.D., Abbas, L., Choubai, S., Jablin, T., Wilson, J.N., & LeBourgeois, M.K. (2023). Creating the cave: Conducting circadian science in early childhood. Clocks & Sleep. Link
2022
Hartstein, L.E., Diniz Behn, C., Akacem, L.D., Wright, K.P., Jr., Stack, N., LeBourgeois, M.K. (2022). Evening light intensity and phase delay of the circadian clock in early childhood. Journal of Biological Rhythms. Link
Hartstein, L.E., Diniz Behn, C., Akacem, L.D., Wright, K.P., Jr., Stack, N., LeBourgeois, M.K. (2022). High sensitivity of melatonin suppression response to evening light in preschool-aged children. Journal of Pineal Research. Link
Hartstein, L.E., Akacem, L.D., Wright, K.P., Jr., Diniz Behn, C., & LeBourgeois, M.K. (2022). Evidence of circalunar rhythmicity in young children’s melatonin levels. Journal of Sleep Research, 32(2): e13635. Link
In The Media
Dr. Hartstein’s work has been featured in more than 650 national and international media outlets. See below for a selection of stories that she has been interviewed for.
2024
2023
Mailing Address
Sleep and Development Lab
University of Arizona Health Sciences, Suite 7303
1501 N Campbell Ave
PO Box 245002
Tucson, AZ 85724-5002
Phone
(520) 621-0972
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