ESRS Newsletter February 2026

This February, to mark the International Day for Women and Girls in Science on 11 February, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (EDIC) will launch the first EDIC Book Club. The inaugural title, Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez, provides a timely and relevant starting point for discussion on data, evidence, and representation in science. The online discussion will take place on 12 February 2026 at 16:00 CET, and whether you are reading the book for the first time or revisiting it, you are more than welcome to join the conversation. You can find further details on the ESRS website, and don’t forget to add the event to your calendar!

Later in the month, on 26 February 2026, the European Sleep Research Society will hold a joint webinar with the Australasian Sleep Association (ASA), entitled COMISA in Clinical Practice: From Phenotyping to Scalable Digital CBT-I. This free webinar will focus on co-morbid insomnia and sleep apnoea (COMISA), bringing together international experts to discuss current clinical approaches and emerging, scalable digital cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) solutions. I encourage you to register and join the session. 

March is a particularly important month for ESRS, as we celebrate Sleep Awareness Month for Europe. As part of this initiative, we launched a pledge for Pyjama Day on 6 March, which has already received more than 30 submissions, representing an expected participation of over 3,300 people. Pyjama Day invites workplaces, schools, and organisations to make sleep visible by wearing pyjamas and raising awareness of healthy sleep. This strong early response highlights the collective commitment to sleep health, and several additional activities will take place throughout the month. If you are planning activities during March and would like ESRS to promote them as part of Sleep Awareness Month, you can submit your initiative via the online form. Also in March, and in connection with Brain Awareness Week, ESRS will collaborate with the European Psychiatric Association (EPA) and the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) on the joint webinar Sleep as a Lifestyle Factor for Mental Health across the Lifespan, taking place on 20 March 2026. Registration is open, and you are welcome to share this webinar with your colleagues!  

Looking ahead, preparations continue for Sleep Europe 2026, to be held in Maastricht, the Netherlands, from 20–23 October 2026. The Call for Abstracts remains open until 23 March 2026, and I very much look forward to seeing your work presented. 

Kind regards,