Sleep and Sleep Disorders
Full course description
Sleep is considered essential for good physical and mental health, yet, about 30% of the adult population complains of disturbed sleep. Prevalence of sleep disturbances is particularly high among elderly and women, and highly associated with psychiatric disorders like anxiety and depression. This course will address various aspects of normal and disturbed sleep, like the measurement and structure of normal and disturbed sleep; the normal need for sleep; the role of sleep in memory and cognition; various sleep disorders, like insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea and sleepwalking; and the biological mechanisms involved.
At the end of the course there will be a written exam consisting of at least six open/essay questions.
The final assessment for this course is a numerical grade between 0,0 and 10,0.
Course objectives
After this course students are able to:
- know the characteristics of normal sleep and developmental changes;
- explain the interaction of homeostatic sleep drive and circadian processes affecting sleep duration and sleep architecture;
- know how to measure sleep, sleep complaints and daytime sleepiness;
- know the effects of sleep deprivation and explain major causes of lack of sleep;
- characterize, differentiate and explain the neurobiological mechanisms of major sleep disorders such as insomnia; narcolepsy, sleep apnea; sleep walking; restless legs syndrome; REM behaviour disorder; night terrors; nightmares; circadian rhythm disorders;
- apply knowledge of the neurobiology of sleep and circadian rhythm to explain sleep disorders;
- understand various theories of the function of sleep, including the function of sleep for cognition.
- J.G. Ramaekers
- P.R.A. Heckman