Development of Circadian Rhythm Regulation Strategies for Enhancing Learning/Working Performance through Empirical Evidence-Based Field Trials

A survey report in 2020 conducted by the Child Welfare League Foundation indicated that about 90% of high school students slept less than eight hours, leading to negative emotional problems (such as depression) and low academic achievement. In Taiwan, the education system has emphasized the growth of students’ knowledge for a long time, ignoring the normal development of students’ physiology and psychology. About 65% of middle high school students in Taiwan are prone to depression due to academic pressure. If students don’t know how to relieve stress, it will seriously harm their physical and mental health. In recent years, relevant researches have shown that artificial sunlight lighting can effectively regulate the circadian rhythm. Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) can improve personal health cognition. Therefore, the goal of the third year of this project is to explore the effectiveness and the long-term effect of lighting strategy combined with acceptance and commitment therapy on sleeping duration, depression and academic achievement of students. In the third year of this project, the experimental courses, data analysis, and discussions have been successfully completed. In this study, four 10th grade classes have been sampled through purposive sampling. The results of MANCOVA showed that: (1) The posttests of sleeping duration, depression, and academic achievement of the ACT (acceptance and commitment therapy) class, the lighting strategy (AIoT-based smart lighting system) class, and the lighting strategy combined with ACT class were significantly better than those of the comparison class; (2) The delayed posttests of sleeping duration, depression, and academic performance of the ACT class and the lighting strategy combined with ACT class were significantly better than those of the comparison class. The delayed posttest of depression of the lighting strategy class was only significantly better than that of the comparison class; (3) The adjusted means of the posttest and delayed posttest of sleeping duration, depression, and academic achievement of the lighting strategy combined with ACT class had the best improvements. In summary, the combination of lighting strategy and ACT can positively affect the physical and psychological aspects of students, and more effectively improve their sleeping duration, depression, and academic achievement. The psychotherapy of ACT can internalize students’ value recognition of healthy sleep behaviors and positive emotional state, resulting in long-term effects on the improvements in sleeping duration, depression, and academic achievement. In the future, important results will be presented at important international educational conferences and published in international journals.