Sociology of Sleep - Marie Curie

The biomedical and sociological effects of sleep restriction

Good sleep in combination with healthy nutrition and adequate physical exercise form the basis for good quality of life and good health. Disorders of sleep lead to diminished quality of life, health deterioration and a predisposition to accidents. An individual’s quality of life can be markedly improved if sleep disorders can be prevented and/or treated adequately. Significant economic savings can be achieved in society through improving sleep, in decreased accident rates, diminished health care costs and increased productivity.

The aim of the project is to identify factors (molecular, physiological, behavioural, sociological) causing sleep loss and clarify the physiological and behavioural consequences of sleep loss. How age, gender, clock genetics and social context impact on these responses will be investigated among both women and men at different stages of the life course. Also, we will assess how the response to sleep loss is associated with risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. These findings will help to alleviate the detrimental consequences of sleep loss and effectively treat sleep disorders, improve the quality of life, promote healthy ageing and help people to stay employed longer.

Consortium Members:

Universtiy of Helsinki (UNIH), Finland
University of Surrey (UNIS), UK
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium
Max Planck Institute , Germany
University of Zurich (UZH), Switzerland

For further information, please contact any of the Fellows undertaking training at the Department of Sociology, University of Surrey:

Emanuela Bianchera, Stella Chatzitheochari, Ana-Claudia Bara