The course reviews central concepts and topical research in stress, sleep and health. In particular, it is focused on how acute stress, chronic stress, diurnal rhythm and sleep problems affect and interact physiological systems such as the immune system, the endocrine system, cognitive processes and possible consequences for health. The course encompasses neuroscientific and other biological perspectives, and describes interventions to improve stress- and sleep related symptoms. Theoretical models and methods to understand and study stress- and sleep related processes will be applied.
The course will be provided fully online, partly via Zoom but also taking advantage of recent digital tools such as Gather; and using Canvas as the learning platform in-between in-class sessions.
At the end of the course, the doctoral student shall be able to:
- understand, describe, and critically discuss central theoretical and empirical issues regarding how stress and sleep affect health, and the basic mechanisms by which this association occurs
- critically reflect on the literature in the field
- identify knowledge gaps, and design an adequate research plan for a study of the effects of stress and sleep on health, and to critically discuss the chosen design in relation to pertinent literature
No prerequisite courses, or equivalent, demanded for this course.