ESRS Newsletter December 2025

2025 has been a busy, productive, and truly memorable year for the ESRS community! 

In this final newsletter of the year, we’ll take a brief look back at some of the key highlights from the past twelve months. But most importantly, we are thrilled to share some important dates and exciting opportunities coming up in early 2026 – starting with the application period for the Examination and ESRS grants. 

We started the year with a four-part webinar series with the Sleep Research Society (SRS), and the last instalment is scheduled for 22 December with a timely discussion on the Functions of Sleep in relation to the Winter solstice. The Programme is online and Registration is open.  

First, on 11 December we have the Basic Animal track making up the eighth and final instalment of our eSleep virtual congress. I want to personally thank the Scientific Committee and ESRS staff for making eSleep a success time and time again. The ongoing programme  has reached 2,546 participants from 110 countries around the world, the broadest geographic reach of anything the ESRS has ever done! 

In the spring we co-hosted the 8th Sleep and Breathing Conference with the European Respiratory Society (ERS). It was held in Antwerp, Belgium. This year’s conference proved highly successful, uniting key opinion leaders from across the globe for a rich exchange of knowledge and expertise. We are already preparing for the 9th edition with ERS for 2027. 

ESRS continued in-person education with two training schools this fall – Sleep Science School and Paediatric Sleep School. Both events were well attended and warmly received, supported by an international faculty of leading experts, and marked by a strong pool of well-qualified applications—an encouraging sign for the future of the sleep field. 

ESRS is proud to support the ASSM Guideline, Treatment of central sleep apnea in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline which was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine 

To end the year, we came to an agreement with the European Society of Sleep Technologists (ESST) to welcome their members into the ESRS as Technologist members. As many of you are aware, the ESRS has a long-standing tradition of including the ESST at Sleep Europe so this merger is not simply an administrative change — it is a reflection of our common purpose. Together, we bring greater strength, broader expertise, and a richer diversity of perspectives to our field. We are confident that by welcoming Sleep Technologists as ESRS Members, we will create even more opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and growth. 

As I recap our accomplishments, two important words come to mind – cooperation and collaboration. I must thank all of the volunteers, Committee Chairs, project leaders, national sleep society representatives, and faculty members. Each and every one of you who dedicates your free time to helping to shape and develop the field of sleep in Europe, your engagement and contributions have been the driving force behind every achievement. I hope you feel as proud as we do of the progress we’ve made together in advancing sleep research and sleep medicine in Europe.  

Please read on for important information regarding membership renewals, application deadlines, our 2026 events calendar and ways you can continue to get involved! 

All members have received at least one, and maybe six (sorry about that, we had a technical error on our side) emails reminding you to renew your ESRS membership. In case you missed it, sign into your account on myESRS and renew before the end of the month so you don`t miss out. The application period for ESRS grants is now open until 31 January 2026. We are also currently accepting applications for the 2026 Sleep Medicine Examination until 31 January 2026. To support our members with the application process, we will host a Town Hall-style question and answer webinar on Monday, 12 January 14:00 CET where the organisers will be happy to answer all your questions.  

In an effort to involve more of our members and design a training programme that fits your needs, the ESRS Board is holding an open call for Master Class proposals for Sleep Europe 2026. There are a limited number of Master Classes in the programme and we would like to hear from you if you would like to organise a course. All of the information can be found in the  Call for Master Class Proposals. Submissions will be accepted from 15 December through 14 January. 

Finally, I want to remind you to get your science ready as the Call for Abstracts for Sleep Europe 2026 in Maastricht, NL will open on 15 December – 23 March. The final deadline for submissions will be 1 April 2026 and no further extensions will be granted after this date. Please prepare accordingly.  

On behalf of the ESRS Board, I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season and a great start in the new year.