World Sleep Day is an annual celebration that brings together sleep medicine specialists and the public throughout the world to highlight the importance of sleep. Since the first World Sleep Day in 2008, thousands of events and activities have taken place around the globe. Dedicated sleep professionals have committed themselves to raising awareness of sleep and all it has to offer. Read on to learn more about World Sleep Day from recent award winners in their own words.
Nigeria
6 Years of Participation
Morenikeji Komolafe, MBBS(Ib), FWACP, FWSO | Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, Nigeria
My team has been involved in media (television, radio, newspapers) and school campaign activities as well as education of health workers. Our advocacy efforts target hospital management and the government to provide more facilities for sleep disorders.
Our goals for World Sleep Day were to raise awareness of sleep disorders among school children, teachers, and members of the public; to educate healthcare workers on the presentation and management of sleep disorders; to educate the healthcare workers and public on the adverse effects of sleep deprivation; and to encourage institutions to implement policies in terms of better work schedules to reduce the adverse effects of sleep deprivation.
The awareness activities in the schools have been the most meaningful. The school children have a lot of questions and they are also agents of change as they carry the message home to their grandparents, parents, family members. World Sleep Day is an avenue to promote the field of sleep medicine and encourage more doctors to specialize in the discipline.
Morocco
2 Years of Participation
Amal Satté, MD | Moroccan Society of Sleep and Wakefulness
In 2022, as sleep disorders became a real issue because of the epidemic and the lockdown, the Moroccan Society of Sleep and Alertness (Société Marocaine du Sommeil et de la Vigilance [SMSV]) decided to organize activities to raise awareness of the importance of sleep. We contacted the most important TV channels in Morocco who featured members of the SMSV during the TV news and reported on sleep. We also organized activities in different associations and schools for adolescents.
Our main goals were to inform people that sleep issues shouldn’t be neglected and that there are sleep centers that manage these issues. Many patients came to the different sleep centers because they figured out that they had symptoms they heard about on the TV reports we did.
India
7 Years of Participation
Ravi Gupta MD, PhD | Indian Society for Sleep Research
We have organized many events on different World Sleep Days including educating students about sleep health, educating teachers to identify children with suspected sleep disorders, educating physicians about identifying sleep disorders, and creating public awareness through newspapers and other media channels.
Activities organized on World Sleep Day allow us to directly communicate with people. This is an important day to remind people that sleep health is important for a healthy life.
India
5 Years of Participation
Nagarajan Ramakrishnan, MD | Nithra Institute of Sleep Sciences
Our goal every year is to reach out nationwide to create awareness on the importance of sleep for good health. We conduct a poster competition for children in various age groups based on the theme of the year. This helps to involve children at an early age to understand the importance of sleep.
Sleep health is often ignored. World Sleep Day is a great opportunity to remind healthcare professionals and the public of the importance and educate them on common sleep disorders. The activities help us to make people aware of the services that we provide. Dedicated sleep clinics in India are still far and few and many people are unaware of whom to approach for their sleep-related issues.
India
3 Years of Participation
Sudipta Chandra, MS (ENT), FRCS (Glasg) | Belle Vue Clinic & Hospital, Kolkata
In 2021, I tried to involve the sleep specialists of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan as a single unit for World Sleep Day. Physical programs were organized in each of these countries and a live Facebook webinar was organized where everyone can participate.
World Sleep Day causes immense impact for the public; sleep physicians, technicians, and surgeons; and other medical faculty as it enables us to sleep naturally and peacefully in this ultra-stressful world.
Our goals for World Sleep Day are to reach as many people and medical faculties as possible and shout out loud for sleep. As the lifestyles of people around the world become more stressful, various sleep disorders are becoming more common.
Russia
8 Years of Participation
Lyudmila Korostovtseva, MD, PhD | Russian Society of Somnologists
We have been organizing activities since 2014. The most meaningful projects were those for children, both preschool and school-aged. They included an interactive presentation of simple rules of healthy sleep for preschool children and interactive lectures for adolescents.
It is important to promote knowledge about sleep and its role for our lives, the ways to improve sleep, and to know about sleep disorders.
Thailand
2 Years of Participation
Pornprapa Chindamporn, MD | Sleep Society of Thailand
In 2021, we arranged the Good Sleep competition via the public’s own smart watches. A lot of people use smart watches now and they can participate in this with the already existing program. This activity can push good sleep hygiene for the people.
In 2022, the activity for the public was to compose a song for good sleep and promoting sleep hygiene. The Sleep Society of Thailand had collaboration from the Department of Health, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand. We arranged a press conference to promote sleep hygiene in childhood, middle-aged, and elderly groups and pushing good sleep policy to publication.
Sri Lanka
1 Year of Participation
Chandimani Undugodage, MBBS, MD, MRCP UK, FRCP (Lon) | Sri Lanka College of Pulmonologists
Our goals for World Sleep Day were to create awareness and knowledge among the general public on sleep and obstructive sleep apnea and to educate doctors on identifying sleep disorders. We made a sleep webpage (www.sleepbetter.lk) and held the launch of the site on World Sleep Day with over 100 participants. We also had a press conference, art competition, and academic program for doctors.
Armenia
13 Years of Participation
Samson Khachatryan, MD, PhD | Armenian Sleep Disorders Association, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Armenian National Institute of Health
Right from the very start of World Sleep Day in 2008, I was deeply involved and organized various events with the participation of local and international speakers, doctors, and patients. Our most successful projects have been seminars on specific topics for specialists, presentation of local prevalence study results at a press conference, and high-impact TV show appearances.
World Sleep Day is a great occasion to raise awareness among the general population and give attention to the work we have done locally. The population in Armenia now is more aware overall. People frequently find a sleep doctor through the internet and medical specialists are now more likely to refer their patients for sleep consultation and study.
Portugal
8 Years of Participation
Maria Helena Estêvão, MD | Portuguese Sleep Association
We always have great involvement with children’s activities. One of the most successful projects was a drawing contest that was partnered with the Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology of the University of Coimbra, and was directed to all Portuguese children and adolescents.
World Sleep Day is very important to increase health literacy on sleep hygiene and disorders. A large population is reached including healthcare professionals and the public. Children are a very important group for taking home the message to their family.
Portugal
4 Years of Participation
Teresa Rebelo-Pinto, MsC | Sleep & Psychology Clinic
World Sleep Day is such an exciting experience gives us the chance to build up very impactful projects, bringing together different groups from the community and inviting them to look at sleep from a healthier perspective. It’s an opportunity to educate new researchers and clinicians that become interested in the sleep field. As they prepare educational toolkits and develop sessions for the community, they go deeper on this topic and increase their knowledge and professional skills.
All of our World Sleep Day projects have been very successful, but our advertising campaign in 2022 of “Sleep is not a waste of time!” was particularly important. Several media platforms shared our content. We focused on how untreated sleeping problems can lead to an increased risk of driving accidents, mental health issues, and poor performance at work.
World Sleep Day is an opportunity to have a lot of people with the same purpose: promote healthier sleep across age groups, cultures, and countries. In many cases, sleep is not part of the curriculum and there is still a considerable lack of knowledge about this field. This gap needs to be addressed and World Sleep Day is a great way to do that.
Many people ask for professional help after these campaigns because they became curious about sleep. Sometimes, they had no idea they had a serious sleep disorder (like narcolepsy or sleep apnea) and this would have stayed a silent issue without this type of awareness initiative.
We have also been developing a new methodology to track sleep problems: the Sleep Check-up. It is designed in a way that companies can offer their employees a specialized Sleep Check-up to identify sleep disorders in a very early stage and help people define which kind of professional help they need.
Estonia
2 Years of Participation
Elina Kivinukk, MSc | Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre
We have focused more on sleep and wellness for young people, especially on combining good sleep with productivity and creativity. We have tried to organize a week to encourage small changes in daily routines.
We have organized Instagram Live events every evening at 11:00 pm to encourage participants to get to sleep earlier and at a more regular time. In the first year, students of the drama school read sleeptime stories via Instagram Live. In the second year, we invited music students to sing sleep songs, which were broadcasted via Instagram Live.
It is important to keep the sense of community knowing that there are numerous specialists around the world who value the importance of sleep and mental health.
Spain
8 Years of Participation
Teresa Canet, PhD | Spanish Sleep Society
One year, I contacted a large shopping center present in all major cities, El Corte Inglés, to give a conference there on World Sleep Day. The events were held in 13 centers in different regions throughout the country on the same day with great attendance. The public was able to have direct information from sleep specialists and ask questions.
Another year, we collaborated with a school on a week-long program dedicated to the importance of sleep. The students prepared the content of the classes themselves. The school invited psychologists, nutritionists, soccer players, and sleep doctors to assess its contents and talk about sleep. The students prepared a list of practices for a good night’s sleep and disseminated it in hair salons, bakeries, and other stores in the neighborhood. They gave conferences to the parents and developed theaters about good sleep hygiene.
World Sleep Day promotes the importance of sleep in health, both individually and collectively, and it is an opportunity to reflect on the different public bodies such as schools, town halls, and the government. Because of World Sleep Day, the population knows more about sleep problems and knows there are doctors who can treat them.
Guatemala
5 Years of Participation
Fernando Ceballos, MD | Guatemalan Association of Sleep Medicine
We devoted time to transmitting useful and valuable scientific concepts in simple language. We translated the commandments of sleep into Mayan languages to share useful knowledge with the population.
El Salvador
10 Years of Participation
Elena Majano, MD | Bernes Medical Sleeep and Neurological Private Center
March is the most important month of the year. World Sleep Day is the perfect way to put El Salvador on the sleep map. Our goals are to have access for the general public, both adults and children, and bring information and knowledge about the importance of having good sleep every night.
World Sleep Day is a “staircase” to reach other colleagues and the general public and talk about how important it is to have good sleep. World Sleep Day is expected every year and is very well covered. After 10 years in a row, it is a tradition in El Salvador.
Mexico
8 Years of Participation
Montserrat Reséndiz-García, MSc | Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán
World Sleep Day is important because it is an opportunity to spread the importance of sleep, reach healthcare personnel who do not know the area of sleep, and fulfill our social responsibility. The most successful projects are those where it has been possible to reach the general public, who do not know about the importance of sleep, especially in populations with little access to sleep care information. People who attend the events are interested in reviewing their sleep, making changes, and sharing the information with others.
Mexico
8 Years of Participation
Matilde Valencia-Flores, PhD | Sleep Disorders Clinic, UNAM and INCMNSZ
World Sleep Day has been important for the clinic staff. Everyone participates and contributes with ideas, videos, songs, and lectures. Patients have not only reflected on their sleep problems for which they attend the clinic, but they have also shared their learning and reflections with friends and family.
Colombia
10 Years of Participation
Leslie Katherine Vargas Ramírez, MD | Instituto Neumológico del Oriente
The activities carried out during the pandemic have been especially significant since we had to devise activities through virtual channels that could reach different audiences. The 2021 activity was very successful because we used a local television space to educate the population in our region on sleep hygiene.
In 2022, we met with a pediatric pulmonologist specializing in respiratory sleep disorders and a psychologist specializing in insomnia. Through Facebook we addressed the sleep disorders that increased during the pandemic and explained recommendations for schoolchildren returning to face-to-face activities.
World Sleep Day is a date that brings together all of us who work in sleep medicine around the world. It is very exciting to think that so many people work one day together under one slogan. World Sleep Day has increased our excitement and interest in carrying out activities that promote the education of health personnel, patients, and the community in general. It is a day we look forward to year after year.
Peru
5 Years of Participation
David Lira, MD | Peruvian Instituto of Neuroscience
Our first activity in 2015 was very meaningful; we worked with children and we learned first-hand about sleep problems in students.
Every year there is a greater number of institutions involved in promoting the importance of sleep in health and the media shows greater openness.
Brazil
9 Years of Participation
Lenise Kim, PhD | Brazilian Sleep Society
Everything started in 2015 when Dr. Paula Araujo and I were graduate students at the Division of Sleep Medicine and Biology from the Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP). We read about World Sleep Day events worldwide on World Sleep Society’s website and we wanted to organize activities in our city. We contacted the board of the Brazilian Sleep Society and told them about our enthusiasm and ideas. The Brazilian Sleep Society and the Department of Psychobiology at UNIFESP joined efforts and started a collaboration.
In Brazil, we’ve planned activities during the whole week of World Sleep Day and called it “Sleep Week”, in which a specific sleep topic was addressed on each day, such as insomnia, sleep deprivation, and sleep apnea. The most meaningful project was the closing days, in which we had interactive (hands-on) activities in public spaces of the city. We had several sleep professionals and students talking to the general population about the importance of sleep and the consequences of sleep disorders.
We also had the opportunity to expand our activities to the whole country. The Sleep Week activities occurred in all five Brazilian sociodemographic regions, involving 25 cities and reaching approximately 15,000 people.
