Sleep School

Several courses for students and health care professionals introduce the basics of sleep physiology and sleep medicine, as well as the many consequences of insufficient sleep.
Courses

The 2½-year 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: 

  • No exams. 
  • Upon request, you will receive a certificate of attendance in the end of the semester if you have attended the lectures online (tiina.harkonen@helsinki.fi). 
  • Please rename yourself in Zoom with first name + last name (do not use nickname/user ID/student number/just first name). 
  • This course is part of an electronic theory training management system KOPI. Credits will be applied from the Universities of Helsinki and Turku.
  • Curriculum as well as possible changes in the curriculum will be informed at this site. 
  • Recordings of the lectures are available until the next lecture. You are able to see recordings by clicking the lecture name. 

If you have further questions, please contact: Tiina Härkönen at tiina.harkonen@helsinki.fi

Course starts a new cycle: Course introduction video


Curriculum Autumn Term 2024
Insomnia and circadian disorders

September 4, 16.00-18.00 (EEST)

19. Background, assessment and diagnosis of insomnia.
PhD in clinical medicine, Håvard Kallestad 

PP Slides of Kallestad lecture

20. Behavioral treatments of insomnia and their application.
Assoc. Prof, PhD in medical sciences, Susanna Jernelöv 

October 2, 16.00-18.00 (EEST)

21. Pharmacological treatment of insomnia
Prof. Jan Hedner

22. Comorbidities of insomnia and their treatment.
D.Med.Sc. Juha Markkula

Central disorders of hypersomnia

November 6, 16.00-18.00 (EET)

23. Delineation, definitions, and diagnostics of central hypersomnia
Prof. Poul Jennum

24. Narcolepsy pathogenesis - current hypothesis and controversies
Assoc. Prof. Birgitte Kornum

December 4, 16.00-18.00 (EET)

25. Differential diagnosis of hypersomnias
MD, PhD Evelina Pajėdienė

26. Pediatric and adult narcolepsy and other central hypersomnias: clinical view and treatment.
MD, PhD Stine Knudsen-Heier

 

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Sleepwell program offers a web course on basic sleep and circadian rhythm mechanism for students at the University of Helsinki

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.

Information for students:
Course schedule autumn 2024: Course starts 6.8.2024

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