Participants
         The participants consisted of 28 undergraduate students from a small liberal arts college.  They were all active team players on the varsity division II football team.  The participation of the subjects was voluntary and supported by their coach.  All subjects are male and vary in academic year ranging from freshman to senior (51.7 % = freshman, 17.2 % = sophmore, 27.6 % = junior, 3.4 % = senior).  The mean age of the participants was 19.32 years ranging from 18 to 22 years.
Design
         This research was designed as a descriptive study.  The emphasis was mainly on food consumption, sleep behavior, and physical activity. A correlational design was applied in order to study the relationship among food, sleep, and exercise. The predictor variable food had two levels: carbohydrates and fats.  The other predictor variable, exercise, was ranked from most to least exerting ranging from 1 to 7.  SOL measured the criterion variable, sleep, via a sleep latency test.
Apparatus
        This study was part of a larger study that involves cognitive performance and patterns of eating.  Due to this integration, some materials used do not apply to my particular study.  A battery of psychometric tests was administered to each participant.  These tests assessed mood, cognitive functioning, attention, body image, and sleepiness.  The tests involved are the Jasper ADHD, Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension, Wechsler Memory (logical memory) II, Symptom Checklist-90-R, Conners’ Continuous Performance Test, Sleep Lab Questionnaire, Standford Sleep Scale, Epworth Sleepiness Scale, and Eating Disorder Inventory-II ( Wechsler, 1999; Brown, Fishco, & Hanna, 1993; Wechsler, 1997; Derogatis, 1975; Conners, 1995; Sleep Well; Garner, Olmsted, & Polioy, 1984).
         The Stanford Sleepiness Scale simply asks how the participant feels at that moment and is instructed to circle one of the five choices supplied.  It is a one-sided, one-sheet questionnaire that targets the person’s immediate level of alertness.  One choice provided is feeling active, vital, alert, and wide awake.  The statements range from very alert to hardly staying awake.
         The Sleep Lab Questionnaire, on the otherhand, is composed of 71 questions.  The questions are of open-ended, multiple-choice, true/false, and Likert scale format.   Demographic questions are located at the beginning of the questionnaire such as name, grade point average, and gender.   The questions following inquire the participant to report his sleep schedule during the week and weekends.   Following those queries, the participant is questioned on the amount of caffeine and alcohol consumption he has on a daily basis.  The next question involves sleep behavior in different contexts such as “on school nights, I can’t sleep if I have something on my mind.”  These questions are answered by selecting the appropriate descriptors provided: never, seldom, sometimes, often, and always.  The Epworth Sleepiness Scale is located in the back of the questionnaire with one additional question.  This additional question concerns the chance of dozing immediately after completing the questionnaire (Question 71).
         An interview was conducted requiring the subject to recall the amount and type of food they consumed in the last 24 hours.  A box is provided on the interviewer’s sheet to record the data of the last 24 hours along with a smaller box assigned for the last 4 hours prior to the Sleep Latency Test (SLT).  On this same interviewer sheet, the interviewer can record the subject’s activity occurring 24 hours prior to the SLT. This was done through the interviewer asking the subject to rate the activity 1 through 10 with one being a small amount of energy exerted.  The subject was then asked to rate on average the amount of energy he exerts using the same scale.
         A twelve lead electroencephalogram (EEG) machine was used to measure physiological factors related to the subject’s sleeping patterns.  This instrument consists of twelve leads and a reference lead placed on various parts of the head that measure both cerebral and occipital brain-wave patterns, muscle movement, and heart rate.  These leads were connected to a computer located in an observation room that will record the data on the Vistagraph computer program.  A polysomnography amplifier was utilized to register the data.  An infrared camera was also placed in the sleep lab enabling the experimenter to visually observe the participant’s movement during sleep.
         A headset was worn by the experimenter allowing communication to be transferred to the assistant’s ear piece.  This equipment enabled the experimenter to give biological calibrations.  In response to these calibrations, the assistant who was still present in the room could fix any loose leads or other mishaps that needed immediate repair. This instrument was produced by Shure.
Procedure
         Two subjects came to the lab after team practice involving a vigorous workout and a subsequent self-selected meal intake in the dining hall.  He was then given an inform consent sheet indicating any risks or privacy issues that may be present in the study.  The participant then signed the consent form and returned it to the experimenter.  A sleep lab questionnaire was then presented to the two subjects allowing the experimenter to acquire information such as gender, age, and academic level as well as sleep information.  Following the sleep lab questionnaire, the experimenter selected which condition the subjects would enter by flipping a coin.
          Condition number 1 would take the Jasper ADHD, Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, Nelson Denny Reading Comprehension, Wechsler Memory (logical memory) II, Symptom Checklist-90-R, Conners Continuous Performance Test, and Wechsler Memory II delayed recall.  The administrator of the neuropsychological tests then completed a behavioral checklist.
        The subject was led to the sleep lab where he rated his level of sleepiness at that given moment by completing the Standford Sleepiness Scale (SSS). Following the completion of the SSS, the subject was questioned as to the presence of snoring or nocturnal gasping.  These queries acted as a screening for individuals at risk of sleep apnea. The participant was also asked his and his family’s handedness.  After this questioning was complete, the subject was asked to remove his shoes and any other constricting items he was donning (for example, a watch).  The subject then was weighed. Height was recorded along with neck circumference.
        After the measurements were recorded, electrodes were placed in the standard position for recording the electroencephalogram (C3 and C4), electro-oculogram (A 1 and A2), and electromyogram (mentalis muscle).  The standard bio-calibrations of the MSLT were given.  Following the bio-calibration exercise, the subject was advised to relax and try to fall asleep.  The nap would continue for twenty minutes if sleep onset didn’t occur, or fifteen minutes after sleep onset.  After the time limit was fulfilled, the experimenter awoke the subject and questioned the participant as to whether he thought he had slept.  He was then asked to rank the confidence in his answer from 1 to 7, one being the least confident and seven being the most confident.  The sleep technician then lead the subject to another room where he was given another Stanford Sleepiness Scale.  The sleep technician, after the departure of the subject, completed a behavioral observation checklist.
 The subject remained in the location where he completed the last Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS).
        After completing the SSS, the EDI-II was administered with instructions from the administrator requiring the subject to complete the questionnaire following the written instructions located on the top of the page.  The food and activity interview was then conducted by questioning him on specifics of what he ate 24 hours prior to the sleep study.  For example, the subject was questioned as to what food he ate for breakfast yesterday including ounces of liquid and portions of the meal.  The participant was then debriefed allowing any questions posed by the subject to be answered.