Janne Grønli
Position
Professor, Ph.D., Somnologist. Head of Bergen Stress and Sleep Group.
Affiliation
Research groups
Research
My current research focuses on the relationship between stress (across the life span), disturbances in sleep and circadian rhythms (like working nights or changes in hours with daylight) and health (mentally and physically). The research highlights how circadian rhythms modulate physiology and behaviour, as well as how disrupting them in animal models can produce physiological and behavioral abnormalities that change an animal's susceptibility to further environmental or psychological stress.
I also have a current research focus on the consequences on exposure to - or blocking - blue light. Blue light affects activation level in the healthy young population and some patients with psychiatric disorders may be vulnerable to such energy-riched light.
It is hoped that these animal models and clinical trials will provide an understanding of how dysregulation of the body's timing interact to produce changes in behavior and physiology, and will potentially lead to new clinical interventions to alleviate some of the physical and mental health consequences of our modern lifestyles.
Research interests:
- The regulation and function of sleep
- The relationship between sleep, circadian rhythms, stress and brain function
- How can stress influence the sleep; quality, regulation and function
- How can stress influence circadian rhythms
- The influence of stress on behavior
- Consequences of stress on the neurobiology
- Consequences of simulated shiftwork on sleep, circadian rhythms, biological clocks and metabolism
- How light influence wakefulness and sleep
- e-reading before bedtime
- blocking blue light as additive treatment for mania
- blocking blue light as treatment to ease sleep disturbances during pregnancy
- consequences of short day versus long day
Methods:
- Polysomnography (PSG)
- Actigraphy
- Radar
- Circadian rhythms
- Light laboratory
- Blue-blocking glasses
- Simulated shift work, in men and rodents
- Animal models of depression
- Behavioral tests in rodents
Outreach
Nobel prize for the function of circadian rhythms
Podcast in Norwegian from 13:17, NRK Kuriøs.
Is there a connection between sleep, circadian rhythms and depression?
A conversation with Trond Viggo Torgersen and me.
Podcast in Norwegian, NRK Kroppen
Several Utøya-survivors suffered from sleep disturbances two years after the terror attack
Web article in Norwegian at forskning.no
Sleep - elegantly designed for us to be awake
Chronicle in Norwegian, Bergens Tidende
Do dogs dream?
NRK Newton. TV program in Norwegian from 16:07
Reading from a tablet before bed may affect sleep quality
Interview in English. Reuters Health
Teaching
Course coordinator:
Biological psychology PROPSY303
Sleep, circadian rhythms and behavior PSYK115
Circadian rhythms and sleep their role in mental and physical health, safety and productivity (NRSN summer school 2017)
Polysomnography (PSG) - scoring of sleep and sleep related events; beginners and advanced level
Some topics that I teach:
- The regulation of sleep and circadian rhythms
- Sleep, sleep disturbances and mental health
- Chronobiological treatment of psychiatric diseases
- The use of actigraphy and PSG
- The interpretation of actogram and hypnogram
- Endocrinology
- Immunology
- Psychoendocrinology/psychoimmunology
- Sexual reproduction and differentiation
Publications
Here you can find my list of publications in PubMed