MICS: Mindset Interventions to Facilitate Taking Cold Showers

Sponsor
Jens Gaab (Other)
Overall Status
Not yet recruiting
CT.gov ID
NCT05497713
Collaborator
(none)
200
1
5
26
7.7

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether mindsets sustain the feasibility of taking cold showers over a 3-month period. Secondary objectives are to determine potential effects on physical and mental well-being, sleep quality, skin and hair appearance, perceived illness, and related sickness absences from work.

Condition or Disease Intervention/Treatment Phase
  • Other: Mindsets
N/A

Study Design

Study Type:
Interventional
Anticipated Enrollment :
200 participants
Allocation:
Randomized
Intervention Model:
Parallel Assignment
Masking:
None (Open Label)
Primary Purpose:
Basic Science
Official Title:
Mindset Interventions to Facilitate Taking Cold Showers: A Randomized Controlled Study
Anticipated Study Start Date :
Oct 1, 2022
Anticipated Primary Completion Date :
Dec 1, 2023
Anticipated Study Completion Date :
Dec 1, 2024

Arms and Interventions

Arm Intervention/Treatment
No Intervention: Control Condition

No Mindset.

Experimental: Egoistic x Proximal

Mindset: "This is my 5-minute exercise."

Other: Mindsets
The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether mindsets sustain the feasibility of taking cold showers over a 3-month period.

Experimental: Egoistic x Distal

Mindset: "I am doing this for my health."

Other: Mindsets
The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether mindsets sustain the feasibility of taking cold showers over a 3-month period.

Experimental: Altruistic x Proximal

Mindset: "I am saving one kilo of CO2: "

Other: Mindsets
The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether mindsets sustain the feasibility of taking cold showers over a 3-month period.

Experimental: Altruistic x Distal

Mindset: "I am doing this to fight climate change."

Other: Mindsets
The primary objective of this trial is to determine whether mindsets sustain the feasibility of taking cold showers over a 3-month period.

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

  1. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Baseline) [Baseline]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  2. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Baseline) [Baseline]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  3. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Baseline) [Baseline]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  4. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 1) [Week 1]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  5. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 2) [Week 2]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  6. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 3) [Week 3]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  7. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 4) [Week 4]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  8. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 5) [Week 5]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  9. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 6) [Week 6]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  10. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 7) [Week 7]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  11. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 8) [Week 8]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  12. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 9) [Week 9]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  13. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 10) [Week 10]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  14. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 11) [Week 11]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  15. Showering behaviour concerning frequency (Week 12) [Week 12]

    Participants will be asked how often they showered during the last week.

  16. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 1) [Week 1]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  17. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 2) [Week 2]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  18. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 3) [Week 3]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  19. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 4) [Week 4]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  20. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 5) [Week 5]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  21. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 6) [Week 6]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  22. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 7) [Week 7]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  23. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 8) [Week 8]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  24. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 9) [Week 9]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  25. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 10) [Week 10]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  26. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 11) [Week 11]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  27. Showering behaviour concerning duration (Week 12) [Week 12]

    Participants will be asked how long they showered for during the last week.

  28. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 1) [Week 1]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  29. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 2) [Week 2]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  30. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 3) [Week 3]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  31. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 4) [Week 4]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  32. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 5) [Week 5]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  33. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 6) [Week 6]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  34. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 7) [Week 7]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  35. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 8) [Week 8]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  36. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 9) [Week 9]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  37. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 10) [Week 10]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  38. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 11) [Week 11]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

  39. Showering behaviour concerning motivation (Week 12) [Week 12]

    Participants will be asked their motivation for taking cold showers during the last week.

Secondary Outcome Measures

  1. WHO Five Well-Being Index [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    The WHO-5 is a short questionnaire designed to measure well-being. The WHO-5 consists of five questions. The answers are given on a six-level scale (0 - 5, where 0 represents "No time at all" and 5 "All the time"). The raw value is obtained by adding the answers. The raw value ranges from 0 to 25, where 0 is the lowest quality of life and 25 is the highest quality of life. The percentage value of 0 -100 is obtained by multiplying by 4. The percentage value 0 denotes the worst state of health, 100 the best. The processing time is less than one minute. Example: In the last 4 weeks I was happy and in a good mood.

  2. Questionnaire for positive aspects of well-being in adults [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    The FEW 16 is a psychological self-evaluation procedure for the assessment of positive aspects of well-being in adults. The FEW 16 consists of 16 questions, of which 4 questions each are assigned to one of the following four scales: Ability to work under pressure, vitality, enjoyment, inner peace. The answers are given on a 6-level scale (1 - 6, where 6 represents "Does not apply at all" and 1 "Is absolutely true"). The processing time is estimated at five to ten minutes by adding up the 16 items you get an overall result between 16 - 96, whereas a lower overall result shows a higher physical wellbeing. Example: There's hardly anything that can upset me.

  3. International Physical Activity Questionnaire [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    The IPAQ is a short questionnaire designed to measure physical activity. The IPAQ consists of six questions, of which 3 questions each are assigned to one of the following two scales: Strong physical exertion and light physical exertion. Either you have to tick an answer or you will be asked for a time in hours and minutes per week. The processing time is estimated at three minutes. Example: If you are thinking about physical activities where you are at least a little out of breath, such as running, hiking, dancing, gardening or many sports, how many days a week do you do physical activities of this kind?

  4. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    The PSQI is a self-report questionnaire that assesses sleep quality over a 1-month time interval. The measure consists of 19 individual items, creating 7 components that produce one global score, and takes 5-10 minutes to complete. The questionnaire offers seven component scores and one composite score. The component scores consist of subjective sleep quality, sleep latency, sleep duration, habitual sleep efficiency, sleep disturbances, use of sleeping medication, and daytime dysfunction. Each item is weighted on a 0-3 interval scale. The global PSQI score is then calculated by totalling the seven component scores, providing an overall score ranging from 0 to 21, where lower scores denote a healthier sleep quality. Example: How tired are you during the day?

  5. Skin quality questionnaire [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    The SQQ is a short self-report questionnaire that assesses hand and skin quality. The measure consists of 4 items, whereas they measure appearance, intactness, moisture content and sensation on a 7-level scale (1-7), where higher scores denote a healthier quality of skin. The processing time is less than one minute each. Example: Appearance: Abnormal: redness, stains, rash. Normal: no redness, stains or rashes.

  6. Sickness absence and illness days [All secondary outcomes will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months.]

    Will be assessed at baseline and then monthly for 3 months. Participants are asked to retrospectively indicate the total number of days of absence from their work due to sickness and to indicate the number of days that they have had symptoms of illness, cold or flu during the last month. If participants indicate sickness absence or illness over five days, they are asked for the reason.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes Eligible for Study:
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Yes
Inclusion Criteria:

The investigators will include

  • healthy participants between 18 and 65 years of age,

  • which do not take cold shower on a regular basis.

  • As there are no known gender differences, participants of both female and male sex are included.

Exclusion Criteria:

The investigators will exclude

  • pregnant or lactating women by self-report and

  • subjects with cardiac, pulmonary or any other severe disease by self-report.

Contacts and Locations

Locations

Site City State Country Postal Code
1 University of Basel Faculty of Psychology Division for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Basel Basel-Stadt Switzerland 4055

Sponsors and Collaborators

  • Jens Gaab

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jens Gaab, Prof. Dr., University of Basel, Division Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.
Responsible Party:
Jens Gaab, Sponsor-Investigator, University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
NCT05497713
Other Study ID Numbers:
  • eknz2022-00952
First Posted:
Aug 11, 2022
Last Update Posted:
Aug 15, 2022
Last Verified:
Aug 1, 2022
Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:
No
Plan to Share IPD:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:
No
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:
No

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Aug 15, 2022