Annual Report 2023

Letter from the President

January 1, 2024

Dear Esteemed Members and Colleagues,

It brings me great pleasure to share the remarkable achievements and successes that characterized the year 2023 for the World Sleep Society.

Foremost among our successes was the 17th World Sleep Congress, which witnessed the enthusiastic participation of over 3,100 attendees. On behalf of the Governing Council, I extend sincere gratitude to the more than 1,200 colleagues who chose to contribute their expertise to this prestigious event.
I also express heartfelt thanks to our esteemed partners at the Brazilian Sleep Association, whose gracious hospitality and collaborative spirit significantly enhanced the overall success of the congress.

While the congress stands as the flagship program of our society, this annual report accentuates the excellent performance of World Sleep Society’s additional educational and awareness initiatives. Throughout the year, our dedicated members diligently strive to deliver high-caliber education, mentorship, and advocacy for the global promotion of sleep medicine and sleep health.

A notable highlight includes the participation of twenty-seven young investigators in the International Sleep Research Training Program, engaging in fruitful collaborations with accomplished sleep scientists. Additionally, the inaugural year of the World Sleep Academy saw enrollment from over 50 students worldwide in our online basic sleep medicine program. As the members of the World Sleep Society continue to represent the vanguard of sleep science and medicine, they concurrently nurture the future leaders in our field, sharing knowledge generously with colleagues and healthcare providers.

I encourage your active participation in our initiatives! Consider presenting on a relevant topic to our Academy students, engaging in an ISRTP session, providing constructive feedback on a young investigator’s project, advocating for healthy sleep on World Sleep Day, participating in an interview with Healthier Sleep magazine, or contributing to a committee or writing group. In essence, I invite you to join us in the forthcoming year, 2024!

In closing, I extend my heartfelt gratitude for your collective contributions that rendered the past year a resounding success. Wishing you and your families a joyful and prosperous New Year.

Sincerely,

 Raffaele Ferri, MD | President, World Sleep Society

Download the 2023 Annual Report

Summary

Membership

Membership in 2023 totaled 1074 individual members and 48 associate society members. The one new associate society member is the South African Society for Sleep and Health.

World Sleep 2023 in Rio

The 17th World Sleep congress took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over October 20 – 25,
2023 and was a strong return to pre-pandemic international attendance levels. The World Sleep congress is now back on its usual schedule, convening during each odd year (2025, 2027, 2029, and so on).

International Sleep Research Training Program (ISRTP)

The ISRTP is now in its fifth year, and an exciting community of young investigators in sleep has begun to grow. Nineteen mentees met in person at World Sleep 2023 for special professional development and networking sessions, and alumni from the program contributed much to the main scientific program of the congress also. World Sleep Society members are encouraged to share the ISRTP opportunity with their younger colleagues worldwide.

Practice Recommendations

World Sleep Society published two guideline endorsements in 2023 and finished the year with one final submission to Sleep Medicine for publication shortly in 2024. Six additional task forces continue to work on endorsements and recommendations in other topic areas. Thank you to these volunteer task forces for their hard work over the year!

All World Sleep Society Programs

Review more in-depth updates on each World Sleep Society program in the following report.

Membership

World Sleep Society had 1,074 individual members and 48 associate society members at the end of 2023. The individual membership of World Sleep Society represents 75 countries. One new associate society member joined in 2023: South African Society for Sleep and Health.

2023 was the first full year with the new membership website at member.worldsleepsociety.org.

All membership renewals, event registrations, and member benefits are delivered through the membership website. Recorded presentations from World Sleep 2023 are now available to current members through the membership website.

687 regular members

310 student members

86 technician members

75 countries represented

World Sleep Congress

The 17th World Sleep congress was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil over October 20 – 25, 2023. Over 300 hours of content was presented. The Brazilian Sleep Association organized a Latin American Day with two tracks of content in Portuguese and Spanish, and several other societies organized tracks of specialty content, including the International Pediatric Sleep Association, World Dentofacial Sleep Society, and International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group.

Thank you to everyone who journeyed to beautiful Rio de Janeiro for World Sleep 2023! The next World Sleep congress will be in Singapore over September 10 – 15, 2025.

World Sleep Academy

The first full year of World Sleep Academy completed in August of 2023 with a total of 58 students completing a course. The student population represents over 26 countries, suiting the purpose of the Academy to provide accessible sleep medicine education in underserved areas of the world.

Two new developments for the Academy have been planned for 2024. First, World Sleep Society received a grant from Jazz Pharmaceuticals to provide reduced tuition rates for students based on the country in which they live and work. This updated tuition structure is taking effect for the
next class of World Sleep Academy,
which begins January 2024.

Second, the final course of World Sleep Academy will offer three separate tracks
for students, allowing a student to focus on pediatric sleep, sleep technology, or sleep research. Students will complete specialized content in one of these tracks while maintaining general sessions with the whole cohort to promote networking and intercultural exchanges.

58 students completed a course

26+ countries represented

International Sleep Research Training Program

The International Sleep Research Training Program (ISRTP) is now in its fifth year. In total, 33 young professionals from 11 countries have now participated in the research mentorship program. Four of them completed the program in June of 2023, and six started their mentorships the following month.

Nineteen ISRTP mentees attended World Sleep 2023 in Rio de Janeiro. They participated in dedicated professional development sessions with mentors and special guests. In addition, ISRTP mentees contributed 40 presentations to the main scientific program and chaired three sessions. Abubaker Ibrahim (class of 2023) received several New Investigator Awards and Bingqian Zhu (class of 2020) received a World Sleep Day Distinguished Activity Award.

World Sleep Society received grant support for ISRTP from Philips, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals during 2023.

19 mentees attended World Sleep 2023

40 presentations given by ISRTP mentees at World Sleep 2023

Global Sleep Health Task Force

The viewpoint specifies three actions for government at all levels, researchers, and other stakeholders:

• Educate: promote sleep and circadian health education and awareness
• Research: collect and centralize standard sleep and circadian data in every country
• Implement public health policies: include sleep health initiatives to advance public health agendas

World Sleep Day

World Sleep Day took place in clinics, communities, and countries around the world on March 17, 2023 with the theme “Sleep is Essential for Health.”

World Sleep Day Delegates from 69 countries submitted over 300 activities to the World Sleep Day website, a clear increase from the prior year.

Activity award winners from 2022 and 2023 were recognized on stage at the opening ceremony of World Sleep 2023. Thank you to all World Sleep Day Delegates and activity organizers who work to celebrate healthy sleep!

View all 2023 award-winning activities

300+ sleep awareness activities

69 countries participated

10 award-winning activities

Healthier Sleep Magazine

Two issues of Healthier Sleep were published in 2023. The first issue was published in March, focusing on global sleep health and highlighting the activities of World Sleep Day.

The second was a special issue published in collaboration with Langham Hospitality Group, focusing on sleep health and wellness. This issue was distributed in print at Langham properties around the world and online at healthiersleepmag.com.

Two issues published in 2023:

Global Sleep Health

Wellness

Christian Guilleminault Award

Four young investigators were recognized with the Christian Guilleminault Young Investigator Award in 2023. Each recipient receives a $1000 grant to assist with travel to sleep-related research conference.

Congratulations to the recipients, and please share the application with young investigators in sleep!

Takato Honda in recognition of “GABAergic Neurons in Ventral Midbrain/Pons Are Involved in Mania-like Behaviors with Altered Sleep Homeostasis and Sleep Architecture” presented at Neuroscience 2022 in San Diego, California

Derric Eng in recognition of “The Association between Chronotype and Infant Bedtimes” presented at IPSA Online 2022

Emma Louise Gale in recognition of “Late night screen usage and screen time addiction as shared determinants of insomnia, obesity and wellbeing in 11-14 year old’s” presented at World Sleep 2023 in Rio de Janeiro

Abubaker Ibrahim in recognition of “Effects of Periodic Breathing on Sleep at High Altitude: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Cross-Over Study using Inspiratory CO2” presented at World Sleep 2023 in Rio de Janeiro

Practice Recommendations

World Sleep Society published two guideline endorsements in 2023 with one additional manuscript submitted to Sleep Medicine at the end of the year.

Publications
Morin CM, Bei B, Bjorvatn B, et al. World sleep society international sleep medicine guidelines position statement endorsement of “behavioral and psychological treatments for chronic insomnia disorder in adults: An American Academy of sleep medicine clinical practice guidelines”. Sleep Med. 2023;109:164-169. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2023.07.001

Schenck CH, Cochen de Cock V, Lewis SJG, Tachibana N, Kushida C, Ferri R. Partial endorsement of: “Video-polysomnography procedures for diagnosis of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (RBD) and the identification of its prodromal stages: Guidelines from the International RBD Study Group” by the World Sleep Society. Sleep Med. 2023;110:137-145. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2023.07.012