Promoting Sleep Equity with the ANSS Beyond Boundaries Project
Today is World Sleep Day. In our community, we all know how important sleep is and the impact poor sleep can have for people’s health and day to day functioning. Over the years we have also seen the increased inclusion of sleep medicine into health care systems and public policy. But there is still a long way to go, and this is especially the case in lower to middle socioeconomic countries. In light of this years’ theme for World Sleep Day – Sleep Equity for Global Health – we want to highlight the work we are doing within the ESRS to promote sleep equity and how you can get involved.
ANSS Beyond Boundaries
Spearheading this campaign is the Beyond Boundaries Project from the Assembly of National Sleep Societies (ANSS) led by Dr. Samson Khachatryan and Prof. Dr. Ysbrand van der Werf. The ANSS represents around 8,000 sleep clinicians and sleep researchers from 32 countries throughout Europe. Although many countries are represented, not all countries are members of the ESRS/ANSS in particular from Eastern Europe and sleep medicine and sleep education can be vastly different between countries. The overall aim of the Beyond Boundaries Project is to harness the expertise of ESRS and ANSS members to harmonize knowledge and facilitate outreach between countries. Specific objectives of the project depend on the country’s needs and wishes, but can include sharing experiences, promoting good sleep habits in the general population, advocating for health authorities and implementing financial support mechanism for patients with sleep disorders.
Beyond Boundaries was piloted in Armenia in 2019, where representatives of the ANSS executive committee joined the National Health Institute of Armenia to organize two events. One was an educational seminar including local and external speakers. The second importantly included round table discussions on the particular aspects of sleep medicine that pertain to health and society in Armenia, including regulations, insurance, driver’s licenses, and particular clinical guidelines. The outcome of these events was a joint position statement from the Armenian Sleep Disorders Association, Armenian National Institute of Health, and European Assembly of National Sleep Societies, which served to set a standard for developing rules and guidelines for sleep medicine in Armenia.
The project was hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now looking to continue this work. If you would like to find out more listen to Samson and Ysbrand introduce the project below, or you can watch a more detailed presentation of the project here. If you would like to contact the project to facilitate events in your country, fill out this form and email it to the ANSS Executive Committee (anss_ec@esrs.eu). You can also read more about the project in this article.
The ESRS is also committed to improving Sleep Equity by increasing accessibility to our conferences and by consistently promoting the work of national sleep societies.
Sleep Europe 2024 will be hosted as a hybrid event, so delegates can participate from the comfort of their home or live in Seville, Spain on 24-27 September 2024. Delegates from low to lower-middle income countries will be able to register for the virtual only option for a significantly reduced fee. This is in line with fulfilling an integral part of the ESRS mission – to facilitate the dissemination of information regarding sleep research and sleep medicine.
Sleep Europe 2024 registration will open in April 2024, so please keep checking our website for information.
We also invite members of our affiliated national sleep societies to get in touch with us so we can help you broadcast the important work you are doing year-round in sleep research and sleep medicine. Let us know about any special projects and initiatives and we will share it on our website and social media channels, as well as in our monthly newsletter.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and seeing you online or in-person at Sleep Europe 2024 as we all strive to ensure Sleep Equity for Global Health.
Recent publications from ESRS members
- Leitner et al. (2024). Neuropsychological Changes in Isolated REM Sleep Behavior Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Cross-sectional and Longitudinal Studies. Neuropsychol Rev.
- Voci et al. (2024). Restless sleep disorder in a sample of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder: preliminary results from a case series. J Clin Sleep Med.
- Yang et al. (2024). Impact of Comorbid Sleep-Disordered Breathing and Atrial Fibrillation on the Long-Term Outcome After Ischemic Stroke. Stroke.
- Bailly et al. (2024). Sociological determinants of adherence to continuous positive airway pressure in the management of sleep apnoea syndrome: protocol for a transdisciplinary, prospective observational study. BMJ Open.
- Bovenzi et al. (2024). Parkinson’s disease motor progression in relation to the timing of REM sleep behavior disorder presentation: an exploratory retrospective study. J Neural Transm (Vienna).
- Minhas et al. (2024). A Novel Approach to Quantify Microsleep in Drivers With Obstructive Sleep Apnea by Concurrent Analysis of EEG Patterns and Driving Attributes. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform.
- Mogavero et al. (2024). Polysomnographic features associated with clonazepam and melatonin treatment in isolated REM sleep behavior disorder: Time for new therapeutic approaches? CNS Neurosci Ther.
- Arzt et al. (2024). Effects of Adaptive Servo-Ventilation on Quality of Life: The READ-ASV Registry. Ann Am Thorac Soc.
- Keenan et al. (2024). Sleep and daytime functioning in children with tourette syndrome: A two-week case-control study with actigraphy and cognitive assessments. Sleep Medicine.
- Cabrera et al. (2024). Overnight neuronal plasticity and adaptation to emotional distress. Nat Rev Neurosci.