Sleep and Circadian Health

Sleep and our biological clock have a fundamental influence on our health and well-being. This seminar will be focused on concepts and research results in the area of “sleep and circadian health”. A specific focus will be on fundamental concepts and methods in chronobiology and sleep research, as well as current research methods. The seminar will take an integrative approach, incorporating also nutrition, exercise and metabolism into the understanding of the circadian clock. The seminar will be held as a hybrid seminar.

At the end of the module students are able to:

• understand basic concepts in chronobiology and sleep research
• understand diverse state-of-the-art methods in the area of sleep and circadian health
• apply diverse state-of-the-art knowledge in the area of sleep and circadian health
• evaluate scientific presentations and presentation styles
• create syntheses of research areas

Scientific Work:

• Final synthesis (research paper) of the research topics presented in the seminars (85%) in a 6,000-word essay
• Literature search and 20-minute presentation (15%)

Basic knowledge health sciences, in particular in psychology and biomedical science

• Blume, C., Garbazza, C., & Spitschan, M. (2019). Effects of light on human circadian rhythms, sleep and mood. Somnologie (Berl), 23(3), 147-156. doi:10.1007/s11818-019-00215-x

Lectures, student-led presentations