Night Bank

What is the Night Bank?

The CARSM Night Bank brings together sleep and circadian rhythm measurements collected since January 1, 2000, from individuals with sleep disorders and individuals without sleep disorders who participated in research projects conducted by CARSM researchers, and/or were evaluated during medical consultations at the Sleep Clinic.

What is the purpose of the Night Bank?

The goal of the Bank is to enable research projects that aim to:

  • Better understand sleep, circadian rhythms, and dreams, their evolution throughout life and in their sociocultural context, and their characteristics in different clinical populations
  • Develop tools to improve the diagnosis of sleep, wakefulness, and circadian rhythm disorders
  • Develop more effective treatments for sleep, wakefulness, and circadian rhythm disorders
  • Better understand why some people respond better than others to certain treatments for sleep, wakefulness, and circadian rhythm disorders
  • Better understand the interaction between sleep, circadian rhythms, and psychological, physical, and cognitive well-being

Data in the Bank

Data from a CARSM researcher’s research project and/or an appointment at the CARSM Sleep Clinic will be stored in the Bank. These data may include:

Ces données peuvent concerner :

  • Sleep data
  • Results of tests and exams you have undergone (e.g., questionnaires, blood tests)
  • Socio-demographic data (e.g., age, education, etc.)
  • Health information (e.g., medication, diagnoses)

Management and Governance Committee

The management committee consists of:

  1. The Bank’s director
  2. An administrator-manager
  3. A CARSM researcher (and their substitute)
  4. A clinician-researcher from the Sleep Clinic
  5. A citizen-partner

The roles of the management committee are to:

  • Oversee the Bank regarding data confidentiality, ethics, and alignment between the Bank’s objectives and research conducted using its data
  • Authorize projects and requests to use the Bank, which must be approved by the CIUSSS-NIM Research Ethics Board (REB) or the REB of the principal investigator’s institution
  • Recommend the renewal of the Bank director’s mandate or appointing a replacement in case of departure or inability to perform duties

For Researchers

The Bank allows:

  • CARSM researchers to store their research data for future research questions
  • CARSM researchers and their collaborators to access data from the Sleep Clinic or research projects more easily, while respecting ethical standards, to carry out large-scale projects
  • Ensuring the sustainability of data acquired at CARSM
  • Contributing to advancing knowledge in sleep and sleep medicine

The CARSM Night Bank is not a bank of participants.

Storage

CARSM researchers can store their research data in the Bank. The management committee evaluates requests and authorizes them if the following conditions are met:

  • The research project has objectives compatible with those of the Bank
  • The research project has been reviewed and approved by the CIUSSS-NIM REB, and the authorization letter to conduct the project is sent to the management committee
  • Participants are recruited as part of a research project and have signed the project’s informed consent form
  • For participants recruited after January 26, 2024 (creation of the Bank), participants have signed the Bank’s ICF

Please refer to the Night Bank’s management framework or contact Bank staff for any questions and/or the complete procedure.

Use

CARSM researchers and their collaborators are the main users of the Bank’s data. To have a data use request evaluated and authorized by the management committee, the user must submit:

Pour que le comité de gestion évalue et autorise une demande d’utilisation de données, le chercheur-utilisateur doit transmettre au comité de gestion :

  • The project protocol confirming that its objectives, quality, and scientific interest align with the Bank’s objectives, including populations of interest, number of subjects per condition, and variables/data requested
  • populations of interest
  • number of subjects per condition, and
  • variables/data requested (in accordance with the REB-approved protocol)
  • Approval from the CIUSSS-NIM REB or their institution’s REB
  • Proof that ethical training is up to date

These documents will be sent to the CIUSSS-NIM REB, which oversees the Bank’s activities, at each annual renewal.

Please refer to the Night Bank’s management framework or contact Bank staff for any questions and the complete procedure.

For participants

Your data are automatically included if you slept at the CARSM:

  • Before January 26, 2024, for a research project and/or following a consultation with a Sleep Clinic physician, and/or
  • After November 17, 2025, following a consultation with a Sleep Clinic physician

Unless you request that your data be withdrawnfrom the Bank. Your data are kept with those of all participants.

Withdrawal : If you no longer wish to be part of the Bank, you can request removal in writing (email or withdrawal form) or verbally (514-338-2222 ext. 12987, or in person with Bank staff). All your information will be destroyed, and we will no longer be able to provide it to researchers.

We will notify you when the data are destroyed. Data currently in use or already used cannot be destroyed but will not be reused.

Confidentiality

Once your information is in the Bank, we will destroy any identifying information (e.g., name, first name, date of birth, exact visit date).

We will keep health information and research data on computers with multiple password-protected security levels. We will no longer be able to link this information to you.

Researchers analyzing Bank data use a code to identify participants and cannot access identifying information because it has been destroyed.

Incidental Findings

An incidental finding is a discovery made by chance that may impact your health and well-being. It is possible that we make an incidental finding:

  • During quality control of your data for entry into the Bank, and/or
  • When researchers conduct projects using your research data

If this occurs and the physician on the Bank’s committee considers it necessary, we will inform you of what was discovered.

The researcher responsible for the project or a Sleep Clinic physician will suggest appropriate resources if you wish.

Documents for download

Informational flyer

Request for data withdrawal

Management framework