February 09, 2026, 14:00 CET

with

Prof. Dr. Christoph Schöbel

Head of the Sleep Medicine Center

Professor of Sleep and Telemedicine

Essen University Hospital

Ruhrland Clinic

Online via Zoom
Link and password upon request
Please write an e-mail to: seminar.umweltmedizin@med.uni-augsburg.de

Title:

Sleep Is the best Medicine – Sleep as a Seismograph of Health and Environment

Abstract:

Sleep is a fundamental biological necessity and a key regulator of physical, mental, and cognitive health. Adequate sleep supports immune function, metabolic regulation, cardiovascular health, and psychological resilience, whereas disturbed or insufficient sleep is associated with increased morbidity and reduced quality of life. Sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea are highly prevalent, yet frequently underdiagnosed and undertreated.

Beyond its individual health effects, sleep is highly sensitive to environmental influences. Light exposure, noise, shift work, digital media use, and psychosocial stress directly affect circadian rhythms and sleep architecture. In this sense, sleep can be understood as a biological “seismograph” that reflects disruptions in both internal and external environments, often preceding manifest disease.

Recent advances in digital sleep tracking, wearables, and home-based sensor technologies enable continuous, real-world assessment of sleep behavior. When clinically validated and responsibly applied, these tools offer new opportunities to study interactions between environment, behavior, and sleep, to identify early health risks, and to support preventive and personalized approaches to medicine. The talk highlights the potential—and the limitations—of sleep self-measurement in environmental and clinical health research, underscoring why sleep truly represents “the best medicine.”