Amid all our everyday activities, we seldom just stop to recognize the world around us – and the events that help shape us.
World Sleep Day is an annual event, intended to be a celebration of sleep and a call to action on important issues related to sleep, including medicine, education, social aspects and driving. It is organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society and aims to lessen the burden of sleep problems on society through better prevention and management of sleep disorders.
Historically, many sleep medicine professionals and researchers were faced with the public and professional dilemma that sleep was not important enough in personal health and well-being to be a priority. Thus, the formation of this international recognition – World Sleep Day. It is generally recognized on the Friday before Spring Vernal Equinox each year – and this year occurs on March 13th!
This annual event was first conceived by an elite group of dedicated sleep medicine professionals. The goal of the first World Sleep Day was to bring together sleep healthcare providers to discuss and distribute sleep information around the world. The first co-chairs of World Sleep Day were Liborio Parrino, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology at Parma University, Italy and Antonio Culebras, MD, Professor of Neurology, Upstate Medical University, and Consultant, The Sleep Center, Community General Hospital, Syracuse, New York, USA.
The World Sleep Society (WSS) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States and serves as the host for the event each year. In order to eliminate any functional bias from the event, WSS does not support, recommend or endorse any products of services, but they do accept corporate sponsorships to help support the cost to host the event. Additionally, WSS does not endorse or recommend commercial products, treatments, or companies.
Only a fraction of World Sleep Day’s cost is recouped through corporate sponsorships. Some of the costs needed to support World Sleep Day are:
- costs of press releases
- website hosting
- creation of educational content
World Sleep Day Events
Thousands of events will occur world-wide, and activities of World Sleep Day are free and open to the public. Below are just a few of those USA-based events:
VIRGINIA:
- Virginia Governor Ralph S. Northam to proclaim 14 March 2020 to be ‘Narcolepsy Awareness Day’. By his proclamation, he calls “this observance to the attention of all” citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia
- Community event showcasing the Sovah Health Integrated Sleep Disorders Center in Martinsville, Virginia
FLORIDA
- Kristina Grabnickas, AANP, will be teaching importance of sleep to Nurses and Teachers. The workshop includes “Sleep and the Brain”, ways to obtain a great nights sleep and dangers of sleep deprivation on April 4, 2020.
KANSAS
- The University of Kansas Health System-Pawnee Valley Campus-Sleep and Diagnostic Center 2020
- After hours conference with the Larned, KS Chamber of Commerce highlighting our Sleep Center, Medical Director and Sleep Awareness.
- Hospital 10-year anniversary recognizing World Sleep Day
- Health Fair for all 6th graders with an emphasis on World Sleep day and sleep health
- Hospital-wide celebration of World Sleep Day with fun games with the departments.
- Local advertising of the Day through local social media, radio, newspapers, invitations to events and flyers
DALLAS TX & CHICAGO IL
- Dallas and Chicago-area Tempur-Pedic stores will be providing a free Tempur-Pedic Pillow when individuals visit the store and complete a 7-Minute Rest Test
ILLINOIS
- Kathy Sexton-Radek, PhD, D.BSM, of Elmhurst College, will be presenting “Sleep and your dreaming brain” to college campus.
MASSACHUSETTS
- Kali Patrick, a Watertown MA Sleep Wellness Coach providing free lecture on 3 Lifestyle Habits That Are Wrecking Your Sleep (and what you can start doing differently) – offered the last Tuesday of each month from January – June.
NEW YORK
- 4th Annual Buffalo Niagara Corporate Wellness Summit, presented by Lawley Insurance and the American Heart Association on “Sleep + Heart Health”
- “Sleep and your dreaming brain” presentation to Elmhurst College (IL) by Kathy Sexton-Radek, PhD, D.BSM, area sleep specialist
- Columbia (NY) University Irving Medical Center’s 3rd Annual Sleep Symposium for Clinicians & Researchers: “Sleep & Cardiovascular Disease Risk”
- Kentucky-based Sleepedu.org will be celebrating with local articles, press releases and free courses for learners new to the program!
ONLINE
- Arianna Huffington, formerly of The Huffington Post and author of The Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time, collaborated with World Sleep Day efforts for the 2020 Press Release. In 2016, Ms. Huffington left The Huffington Post to launch Thrive Global, a start-up company dedicated to health and wellness that aligns with World Sleep Day efforts.
- Ruth Marion of the The Sleep Forum, will post a series of podcasts on THE SLEEP FORUM SLEEP BETTER PODCAST SERIES sponsored by WORLD SLEEP DAY!
For additional information on all global and USA-based events, visit the World Sleep day website at https://worldsleepday.org/
*Wherever you are located, you can show your support for the World Sleep Day mission by referencing #worldsleepday and @_WorldSleep on your social media posts on March 13th, 2020.
Everyday is World Sleep Day at Sleepedu!
For over ten years, SleepEdu has been meeting the continuing educational needs for sleep and respiratory professionals working in the sleep medicine industry, by providing approved online continuing education for Sleep for Sleep Technologists and Respiratory Therapists in the United States and Canada. Our online courses are approved by the following:
- Courses Approved by the BRPT (Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists) for CSTE credits (sleep medicine)
- Courses Approved by the AARC (American Association for Respiratory Care) for CRCE credits (respiratory care)
- Courses Approved by the AAST (American Association of Sleep Technologists) for CEC credits (sleep medicine)
- Courses Approved by the CSRT (The Canadian Society of Respiratory Therapists) for CPD credits (respiratory therapy – Canada).
Our mission statement: “To provide quality educational services to professionals in the sleep medicine and respiratory care industries. These services are available to industry professionals in a cost-effective manner through electronic media. Sleep Education Partners pledges to meet the needs of the industry with the highest quality products and uncompromised integrity.”
As part of that mission, we are continually adding and modifying our online courses to ensure they are up-to-date and provide consistent educational value to our Sleep Technologists and Respiratory Therapists looking to meet their state required annual or biannual recertifications (requirements vary by state of residence).
NEW COURSE:
We’d like to introduce our newest course added last week is entitled, “Treating Obstructive Sleep Apnea with Hypoglossal Nerve Stimulation” (which provides an approved AAST or BRPT 1.0 Credit).
Course Description: This course describes a potential treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in patients that either cannot tolerate Positive Airway Pressure (PAP) Therapy or are unwilling to be compliant with PAP Therapy. Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) utilizes an electrical stimulation to the hypoglossal nerve that relieves the obstruction of the upper airway, via an implanted device/electrode. View the courses at our online store:
