Sex hormones, sleep and depression

There is a sex difference in sleep and depression in the population: females are more likely to experience depression and insomnia, but they show better objective sleep. It is hypothesized that sex hormones play a role in these sex differences, but the direct effects of sex hormones on depression and sleep are relatively unknown. Anecdotally, most people assume that sex hormones can affect sleep and mood, especially around hormone fluctuations in menstruation, pregnancy or menopause, but the direct effects and mechanisms are not clear.

To study whether sleep and mood change after sex hormone use, the RESTED study (www.restedonderzoek.com) works with transgender people who are about to start gender-affirming sex hormone use. The study is embedded in the Amsterdam UMC gender clinic, and participants measure their sleep and mood before, after 3 months and after 12 months of hormone use. We collect data on mental health (depression, stress, insomnia), daily mood, single-electrode sleep EEG, as well as clinical data on hormone use, medication use and blood serum hormone levels.

We are looking for…

The RESTED study has recently finished including participants, but we are looking for an enthousiastic Master’s student to assist in collecting data from the follow-up measurements. We are looking for some from December 2022 or January 2023 for at least 5 or 6 months. Due to the clinical nature of the internship, a proficient level of Dutch is required. Because we work with trangender participants, someone with affinity with the LGBTQI+ community is especially welcome.

During your internship, you will be responsible for data collection for the follow-up data, which includes contacting participants, setting up measurements with them and processing and storing the data after the measurement. For most interns, data collection takes up one or two days a week, and on the other days you are free to conduct your own analysis in the data that is already collected in the study.

If you are interested in an internship in our study, please email Margot Morssinkhof (m.morssinkhof@amsterdamumc.nl) and please attach your CV.