ANSS Nov 2021 Meeting Summary
On 27-November 2021, the Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) met online for their half year meeting due to ongoing pandemic-related restrictions. This gathering of over 25 participants was moderated by ANSS Executive Committee Chair Prof. Dr. Ysbrand van der Werf.
This newly installed half-year meeting was done to facilitate more interaction between the ANSS representatives and the national sleep societies. This was taken even further by adding a slot in the programme where those present could share what is happening their own national societies and to invite each other to participate in projects, teaching opportunities and research possibilities.
Key Highlights
As usual the ANSS meetings included a plenary session – the two keynote speakers who were invited were Prof. Dr. Thomas Penzel and Dr. Heidi Lammers.
Prof. Dr. Penzel spoke on the recently revised Catalogue of Knowledge and Skills (CKS). According to him, “In the general university education, sleep is still underrepresented.” He noted that we have to strengthen education in sleep while also going back to the original disciplines to show the importance of sleep. This goes back to the importance and relevance of the CKS.
Dr. Lammers presented the first results of the study on Sleep and Sars-Cov-2 Vaccination Success, starting with the overview of existing data showing effects of sleep on immune response and vaccination efficiency. This was done as a follow-up to a presentation made in the 2021 annual meeting on the effects of COVID-19 on sleep.
ESRS President Dr. Pierre-Hervé Luppi was also present to appeal for more interaction between the ANSS and the ESRS through educational projects (such as adoption of the ESRS examination and endorsement of the new edition of the Sleep Medicine Textbook) and a possible joint flagship project.
Prof. Dr. Van der Werf also gave a reminder that the Executive Committee (EC) of the ANSS operates on a fixed term and as he is in his second term, he’ll be stepping down at the end of it. He urged all representatives present to start considering if they would like to play a role in the EC. While nominations for the various positions will only be accepted when the time comes, he urged interested parties to contact them for more information on what being a part of the EC entails.
For more details on the meeting, you can view the entire 2021 half-year meeting report, which also includes the recordings of both keynote addresses.
Also, we invite you to complete the ANSS national sleep service survey. The survey aims to help the ESRS update the sleep centre accreditation criteria. We would like to know about the organisation of sleep services in your country and your current accreditation activities.
The next ANSS annual meeting is expected to be face-to-face (or hybrid) in Ljubljana (Slovenia) in May 2022 – stay tuned for more information.
Reminders
Sleep Europe 2022 Abstract Submission
We invite you to submit your abstracts for the 26th Congress of the ESRS. All accepted abstracts will be published in the Journal of Sleep Research as well as in the interactive programme online. This will allow your research findings to be seen by professionals around the globe.
Application Deadline: 12 April 2022, 23:59 CET
More details here.
FENS Forum 2022 Abstract Submission
Early registration and abstract submission deadline for the FENS Forum 2022, Europe’s largest international neuroscience conference, is 22 February 2022. Review the abstract topics and submit your abstract today.
FENS and IBRO-PERC are offering travel grants (750 Euro each) for students and young investigators to attend. Please note that you have to be registered in order to apply for this grant. In addition, click here to view more travel grants options and eligibility criteria offered by FENS member societies.
Recent publications from ESRS members
- Belli et al. (2022). Children with neurodevelopmental disorders: how do they sleep? Curr Opin Psychiatry.
- Saeed et al. (2022). Characteristics of hypertension and arterial stiffness in obstructive sleep apnea: A Scandinavian experience from a prospective study of 6408 normotensive and hypertensive patients. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich).
- Palm et al. (2022). Health risks related to polyurethane foam degradation in CPAP devices used for sleep apnoea treatment. Eur Respir J.
- Åkerstedt, Sallinen & Kecklund (2022). Shiftworkers’ attitude to their work hours, positive or negative, and why? Int Arch Occup Environ Health.
- Palagini et al. (2022). Insomnia symptoms are associated with impaired resilience in bipolar disorder: Potential links with early life stressors may affect mood features and suicidal risk. J Affect Disord.
- Postiglione et al. (2022). Narcolepsy with intermediate cerebrospinal level of hypocretin-1. Sleep.
- Terzaghi et al. (2022). Twenty-four-hour blood pressure profile in idiopathic REM sleep behavior disorder. Sleep.
- Merikanto et al. (2022). Evening-types show highest increase of sleep and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic-multinational study on 19 267 adults. Sleep.