The 2½-year Nordic Sleep medicine course is organized jointly by the University of Helsinki (SleepWell research program at Helsinki University Medical Faculty) and Turku (Sleep and Breathing Centre at the Turku University Hospital), in collaboration with all Nordic Sleep Research Societies. The course will provide overview and practical tools for physicians, nurses, psychologists working in fields where patients have sleep problems, as well as students and researchers of sleep medicine and sleep research. The course combines high quality expertises in sleep research and clinical sleep medicine. The teachers are internationally recognized experts on their respective fields, and experienced educators. The curriculum has been created and evaluated in reference with the recommendations of the EACCME.
Aims of the course: The course “Sleep medicine” will provide the participants overview on sleep medicine and practical tools for professionals and students in the field. The course contents are in line with the material of the Sleep Medicine Examination and serves as a preparatory course for the Somnologist examination (ESRS) Sleep Medicine Examintaion (ESRS). CME credits will be applied from the University of Turku but are valid in other Finnish Universities, and according to local regulations also in other countries.
Target audience: Medical doctors, nurses, psychologists and other health care professionals working in fields where patients have sleep problems, as well as students and researchers of these fields.
Methods: The course is an e-learning course, and free of charge. The lectures will be offered through Zoom (please, see below) once a month on Wednesday at 16.00-18.00 (EET) from January to May and from September to December. Time allocated for each presentation is 60 min. Registration for the course is not needed. Please note the times:
Finland, Estonia, Lithuania at 16.00-18.00 (Eastern European time)
Sweden, Norway, Denmark at 15.00-17.00 (Central European time)
Iceland at 13.00-15.00 (Greenwich mean time)
Zoom link:
https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/69483257796?pwd=Vm8zbFNmeXdmU2k5d0NxWVgxUWdqQT09
Meeting ID: 694 8325 7796
Passcode: 416707
Further information:
If you have further questions, please contact: Tiina Härkönen at tiina.harkonen@helsinki.fi
Course started a new cycle in January 2024: Course introduction video
January 8th 16.00-18.00 (EET)
27. REM parasomnias
Prof. Poul Jennum
28. NREM parasomnias
Assoc. Prof. Morten Engstrøm
February 12th 16.00-18.00 (EET)
29. Nocturnal epilepsy as a differential diagnosis to parasomnia. (This lecture will not be recorded!)
MD Specialist in Neurology, Leena Kämppi
30. Dreaming and nightmares.
Senior Researcher, PhD (Psychology), Nils Sandman
March 12th 16.00-18.00 (EET)
31. Sleep in RLS and PLMS.
MD, PhD, Salla Lamusuo
32. Sleep disorders in Parkinson’s diseases: A sleep physicians’ observation after own diagnosis.MD, PhD, Michaela Gjerstad CANCELLED
April 9th 16.00-18.00 (EEST)
33. Understanding sleep bruxism.
DMD Specialist, Laura Nykänen
34. Disrupted sleep and movement disorders in autoimmune encephalopathies. (This lecture will not be recorded!)
Professor MD, PhD, Morten Blaabjerg
May 14th 16.00-18.00 (EEST)
35. Introduction to infant sleep
MD, Marta Celmina
36. Sleep apnea in children
MD, Tina Lildal
This course offers basic knowledge of sleep and circadian rhythms. It will address the neurobiological mechanism of brain oscillations during waking and sleep, as well as the brain areas and neurotransmitters that regulate sleep and circadian rhythms. Understanding of these basic features of sleep helps gaining understanding of the multitude of sleep-related physiological changes and conditions. The course also assess questions like why we have to sleep, what are the consequences of sleep deprivation and how sleep affects physiological functions of the body and brain, including learning and memory.
This is a web-based course that students can attend at their convenience, and for examination to obtain credits, prescribe examination at Examinarium facility.
The course consists of 15-20 min videos on twenty topics. Each topic includes a reading recommendation and a quiz of 10 questions.
Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology web course, 2,5 credits (MED-TOU11) consists of teaching videos and a selection of review articles on the nineteen topics of the course. The easiest way is to start with the video, if available, and then study the article, and complete the entity by taking the quiz. The questions are aimed to guide the studies, and to prepare for the final test.
Course page
Moodle page
Exam visit:
You can take your own university’s exam in another university’s Exam room.
https://e-exam.fi/in-english/
More information:
Henna-Kaisa Wigren
Tiina Härkönen
The Applied course in sleep research and medicine course is targeted to students who have accomplished the course MED-TOU11 (An Introduction to Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology) or have gained comparable knowledge otherwise. Basic knowledge of sleep and circadian biology is expected and not covered during the course.
The course is open to students of the University of Helsinki.
Target group is :
During this course the students have an opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge of sleep and circadian mechanisms to real life cases in translational settings. The students will work in small groups to prepare, present and discuss the given real-world cases with peer-students and with clinical- and basic sleep researchers. The students will have an opportunity to interact in a cross-disciplinary working group, give and receive feedback and modify their thinking accordingly. The course is an excellent opportunity to rehearse and practice skills relevant in the future careers of both clinically- and research-oriented students.
After the course the student:
Understanding the basic mechanisms of sleep- and circadian rhythms by concentrating on pathology. During the course students are presented with cases displaying the characteristics of sleep and/or circadian disorders. The task is to find the disorder based on the diagnostic criteria, explain how the symptoms could be explained at the mechanistic level according to the current scientific knowledge, and finally suggest a treatment strategy as well as plausible research strategies to improve the understanding of the disease.
When: Autumn 2025
More information:
Tiina Härkönen, tiina.harkonen@helsinki.fi
Henna-Kaisa Wigren, henna-kaisa.wigren@helsinki.fi