Daily target times may have made routines more regular but did not ease depression

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   71 students at Temple University in Philadelphia took part, most of them women. All showed mild mood swings on a screening questionnaire, and they were 18 to 24 years old. 62 of them finished, 31 in each group.

2. 02

   What they did

   Everyone wrote down daily activities and rated their mood for two weeks, then four more weeks. One group set target times for getting up, dinner and bed, with a weekly e-mail on how well they kept to them. The other group only met once to review their routines and was not asked to change them.

3. 03

   What happened

   The target-time group's routines became more regular, and the other group's did not change. Depression scores fell in both groups by similar amounts. Scores for high moods fell more in the other group, which the researchers called surprising.

What the study found

1. HelpedRoutines

   Target times and weekly e-mails made students' routines more regular than the other group's.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: At the same time every daytested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Small randomised trial of 71 students with mild mood swings · vs students who met once to review their routines · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished

2. No differenceOther outcomes

   Depression scores fell in both groups, and the target-time group's fell no more than the other group's.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: At the same time every daytested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Small randomised trial of 71 students with mild mood swings · vs students who met once to review their routines · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished

3. No differenceRoutines

   Sleep varied less from night to night in both groups, with no clear difference between the groups.

   • Action: Set a specific goaltested
   • Rule: At the same time every daytested
   • Rule: Get feedback on your progresstested
   • Action: Track your progressused

   Small randomised trial of 71 students with mild mood swings · vs students who met once to review their routines · they rated themselves · ⚠ only counted people who finished

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