The "CAS Light and Chronobiology" aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the role of daylight in human behaviour, psychophysiology, neuroendocrinology and clinical applications. The course will also highlight the importance of daylight in the built environment for office users, schoolchildren or the elderly in care homes.
The course will bridge the gaps between research streams that have not yet been integrated into a functional, holistic and sustainable whole. Such a functional entity is urgently needed to determine biological and psychological daylight needs. The CAS will thus provide the essential foundation for understanding daylight and its effects on people from different perspectives, in order to subsequently teach and guide a wide range of practitioners and research users, including building scientists, lighting designers and engineers, educators, policy makers, and medical and health professionals.
Students will gain a deeper understanding of the effects of light on human circadian rhythms and sleep-wake behaviour, endocrine measures and metabolism, cognitive performance and well-being, and the role of daylight in affective disorders. They will also be given insight and practical training in the fundamentals of daylight research in the laboratory, field and clinical settings.