Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS)

The Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) is a grouping of European sleep societies with the common goal to develop sleep medicine and sleep research.
The ANSS is a formal body of the ESRS and represents the affiliated members from different European sleep societies. The ESRS admits national sleep societies as associates to the assembly.
33 European national sleep societies are currently members of the ANSS representing a total of 8.283 associate members.
The role and activities of the ANSS are described in the constitution and standard operational procedures of the executive committee.
The ANSS is represented in the following ESRS bodies: ESRS Board, Education Committee and Sleep Medicine Committee.

History
The first congregation of European national sleep societies was organised by Prof. Irene Tobler, former president of the ESRS. The meeting took place in Mallorca (ES) on April 2-4, 2004. Delegates from 20 national sleep societies presented recent developments in their countries.
There was an unanimous demand for a coordinated endeavor to further develop sleep medicine in Europe at an international level. It was proposed to introduce European standards for education and accreditation. Furthermore, a need was perceived for the institution of a body that would stand for the interests of the sleep community in the EU. An international consortium could increase the visibility of sleep science and exert impact at the political level.
It was obvious that the ESRS could play a role as an umbrella organisation for such a project. A change of the bylaws was envisaged to secure the establishment of an international assembly and to include ‘sleep medicine’ as a key objective. It was proposed to introduce ‘associate’ membership in addition to the individual ‘regular’ membership. Each national society willing to be part of this venture would have to apply for associate membership.
To implement these new ideas, a steering committee of five individuals was appointed, each being president of a national sleep society at that time. Their primary tasks were to prepare guidelines in consensus with all societies that were interested, to coordinate the future interactions between the ESRS and national sleep societies, and to prepare an annual meeting between delegates of the ESRS Board and the presidents of national societies. The annual ANSS meeting is now held every year on the weekend after May 1st.
The steering committee started working on a regular basis from 2004. At the general assembly of the ESRS in Innsbruck, September 2006, the ANSS became an official body of the ESRS. The steering committee was transformed into the executive committee of the ANSS and appointed one of its members to the ESRS board. The role and activities of the ANSS are described in the constitution and standard operational procedures of the executive committee.
Thus, the ESRS has been successful at creating a dynamic structure for interaction with European national sleep societies. This platform has enabled the development of new task forces, guidelines and common educational programs to further progress of sleep research and sleep medicine in Europe.
Executive Committee
Dr. Sarah
Hartley
France
Prof. Dr. Kiril
Terziyski
Bulgaria
Ambassadors
Beyond Boundaries Project
There are serious differences between countries, their health systems, and coverage of sleep disorders. In some countries, there is a lack of registered specialized National Sleep Society, while in others the NSS is present but due to lack of interest or communication or overall activity they are not in the European federation of NSSs now.
In their interaction with these countries the ANSS Executive Committee felt a clear need to research this aspect in more detail and try to discuss and meet the expectations of countries in helping them to establish/develop sleep fields or facilitate some specific activities.
In 2019, the ANSS EC spearheaded a project task force to cover this gap. Learn more about the ‘Beyond Boundaries’ project, its purposes and how to get involved.
Milestones
2024
Meeting Location: Trondheim, Norway
2023
Meeting Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
2022
Meeting Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
van der Werf YD, Korostovtseva L, Khachatryan SG, Deleanu OC, Young P, Gnidovec-Stražišar B, Engstrøm M, Arnardottir ES, Verbraecken J, Pevernagie D. The history and role of the Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) within the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS). J Sleep Res. 2022 Aug;31(4):e13663. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13663. Epub 2022 Jun 16. PMID: 35707915.
Khachatryan SG, Korostovtseva L, Deleanu O, Gnidovec-Stražišar B, Young P, Engstrøm M, van der Werf YD; Assembly of National Sleep Societies. The Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS-ESRS) moves "Beyond Boundaries": A project announcement. J Sleep Res. 2022 Aug;31(4):e13540. doi: 10.1111/jsr.13540. Epub 2021 Dec 16. PMID: 34913209.
2021
Meeting Location: Online
Khachatryan S.G., Isayan M.A., Hovakimyan H.A., Deleanu O., Korostovtseva L., Verbraecken J., Van der Werf Y.D., Bazarchyan A.A., Gnidovec-Stražišar B. Current state and future perspectives of sleep medicine and sleep research in Armenia A Joint Position Statement of Armenian Sleep Disorders Association, Armenian National Institute of Health, and European Assembly of National Sleep Societies. AJHMS. 2021; 1 (1):28-40.
2020
Meeting Location: Online
2019
Meeting Location: Armenia
ANSS Beyond Boundaries Project pilot event
2019
Meeting Location: St. Petersburg, Russia
2018
Meeting Location: Parma, Italy
2017
Meeting Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
2016
Meeting Location: Brussels, Belgium
- European Sleep meets the European Union “Measuring sleepiness: the need for common European rules”
Publication of a survey on sleep apnea scoring within the ANSS countries:
Variability in recording and scoring of respiratory events during sleep in Europe: a need for uniform standards. Erna S. Arnardottir, Johan Verbraecken, Marta Gonçalves, Michaela D. Gjerstad, Ludger Grote, Francisco Javier Puertas, Stefan Mihaicuta, Walter T. McNicholas, Liborio Parrino and The National Representatives as Study Collaborators. J. Sleep Res. 2016 Apr;25(2):144–57.
2015
Meeting Location: Prague, Czech Republic
Publication of the Wake-Up bus project survey:
Sleepiness at the wheel across Europe: a survey of 19 countries. Marta Gonçalves, Roberto Amici, Raquel Lucas, Torbjörn Åkerstedt, Fabio Cirignotta, Jim Horne, Damien Léger, Walter T. McNicholas, Markku Partinen, Joaquín Téran-Santos, Philippe Peigneux, Ludger Grote and National Representatives as Study Collaborators. J. Sleep Res. 2015 Jun;24(3):242–53.
2014
Meeting Location: Graz, Austria
Close collaboration in the definition of the Catalogue of knowledge and skills, Delphi round by all National Sleep Society presidents in the validation process of the catalogue:
Catalogue of knowledge and skills for sleep medicine. Penzel T, Pevernagie D, Dogas Z, Grote L, de Lacy S, Rodenbeck A, Bassetti C, Berg S, Cirignotta F, d’Ortho MP, Garcia-Borreguero D, Levy P, Nobili L, Paiva T, Peigneux P, Pollmächer T, Riemann D, Skene DJ, Zucconi M, Espie C; Sleep Medicine Committee; European Sleep Research Society. J. Sleep Res. 2014 Apr;23(2):222-38.
ESRS internal report on education, certification, and accreditation of sleep medicine services in European National Sleep Societies
ESRS internal report on reimbursement of sleep medicine services in Europe
2013
Meeting Location: Copenhagem, Denmark
Collaboration on the ESRS Wake-up Bus project.
The creation of the Early Career Network (ECN) was discussed at the meeting in Copenhagen 2013 and launched the following year.
2012
Meeting Location: Venice, Italy
Evaluation of requirements and time efforts for sleep medicine procedures in Europe:
Standard procedures for adults in accredited sleep medicine centres in Europe. Fischer J, Dogas Z, Bassetti CL, Berg S, Grote L, Jennum P, Levy P, Mihaicuta S, Nobili L, Riemann D, Puertas Cuesta FJ, Raschke F, Skene DJ, Stanley N, Pevernagie D; Executive Committee (EC) of the Assembly of the National Sleep Societies (ANSS); Board of the European Sleep Research Society (ESRS), Regensburg, Germany. J Sleep Res. 2012 Aug;21(4):357-68.
2011
Meeting Location: Porto, Portugal
2010
Meeting Location: Antalya, Turkey
2009
Meeting Location: Valencia, Spain
Initiative for the definition of Sleep Medicine Experts certification criteria:
European guidelines for the certification of professionals in sleep medicine: report of the task force of the European Sleep Research Society. Pevernagie D, Stanley N, Berg S, Krieger J, Amici R, Bassetti C, Billiard M, Cirignotta F, Garcia-Borreguero D, Tobler I, Fischer J; Task Force of the European Sleep Research Society. J Sleep Res. 2009 Mar;18(1):136-41
2008
Meeting Location: Split, Croatia
2007
Meeting Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
2006
Meeting Location: Bayrischzell, Germany
Initiative for the definition of Sleep Medicine Centre accreditation criteria:
European guidelines for the accreditation of Sleep Medicine Centres. Pevernagie D; Steering Committee of European Sleep Research Society. J Sleep Res. 2006 Jun;15(2):231-8.
2004
Meeting Location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
The first congregation of European national sleep societies was organised by Prof. Irene Tobler, former president of the ESRS. The meeting took place in Mallorca (ES) on April 2-4, 2004.