November 18, 2021
“We all feel it on our own skin when we have not slept well. It affects our day and colors everything in our lives.”

“Nutrition, exercise and sleep are three main pillars of health. If one of these pillars is not working properly, our mental and physical health is affected,” says Dr. Erna Sif Arnardóttir, assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and the Department of Engineering at Reykjavik University. Erna leads the Sleep Revolution, a Horizon 2020 interdisciplinary and international research and development project which aims to revolutionize how sleep and sleep disorders are measured and recorded.

“We all feel it on our own skin when we have not slept well. It affects our day and colors everything in our lives. You crave unhealthy food, sugar and caffeine and we also eat too much when we have not slept well. Insomnia can also affect our memory and cognitive function,” says Erna.

In this interview, Erna explains the study, how the measurements are made and what effect insomnia can have.