The course aim is that the doctoral student develops a theory of science approach by enabling the doctoral student to understand, employ, reflect upon and critically assess concepts and ideas of theories of science as well as their implications for in particular medical scientific practice. A further aim is to enable the doctoral student to understand, reflect upon and critically assess views on and implications of definitions of health and disease.

The course is given online. The teaching and learning activities used are web lectures, written examination, individual writing exercises, an individual written assignment, and reading of course literature and other distributed materials.

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.