World Sleep Society leadership has made the decision to move World Sleep 2021 to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. The newly named “World Sleep 2022” will be held March 11 to March 16, 2022 in Rome, Italy. The Italian Association of Sleep Medicine will be the host society.

The Italian Association of Sleep Medicine had already been selected to host the 2023 World Sleep congress. But due to the central location of Italy, the decision has been made to switch the locations of the next two meetings. This means the Brazil meeting location is postponed until 2023.

Allan O’Bryan, World Sleep Society executive director, says in a release, “We anticipate travel in 2021 will be limited—even in the event of a COVID-19 vaccine, due to budget and post-COVID-19 institutional travel policies. Therefore we decided to postpone the 2021 congress for six months to March 2022, to allow more time for economic recovery and safe travel. Additionally, a switch from Brazil to Italy will allow our members to attend World Sleep at a more easily accessible location.”

[RELATED: World Sleep Society Forms]

The World Sleep congress will still take place in September 2023 as planned, but the Brazilian Sleep Society will host (not Italy). Dr Andrea Bacelar, Brazilian Sleep Society president, says in a release, “On behalf of the Brazilian Sleep Society, it is my privilege to invite you to visit our wonderful city, a Cidade Maravilhosa, in 2023.” Dr Giuseppe Plazzi, Italian Association of Sleep Medicine president, says in a release, “We are pleased to accommodate this change and look forward to welcoming you all to the historic city of Rome, Italy, for World Sleep 2022.”

The goal is to showcase both of these national societies with an in-person meeting and the greatest attendance by a global sleep medicine and research audience. President of World Sleep Society, Birgit Högl, MD, says in a release, “We are grateful to both the Brazilian and Italian societies for their flexibility and commitment to providing an exceptional scientific program.”

World Sleep 2022 will offer a worldwide forum inviting sleep professionals to advance current medical and scientific thinking, discover ways to improve sleep health, and encourage the prevention and treatment of sleep disorders. Participants are encouraged to submit science for this highly ranked congress. The Sleep Society will begin accepting proposals for scientific symposia and abstract submissions in March 2021.

Important dates for World Sleep 2022 are as follows:

  • Symposia submission: March 1, 2021-June 30, 2021
  • Abstract submission: begins June 1, 2021; abstract early deadline: July 31, 2021; Oral and Young or New Investigator deadline: November 30, 2021; Poster deadline: January 15, 2022
  • Registration opens: February 1, 2021

Save the dates to attend the World Sleep congresses on March 11-16, 2022 (Rome) and in September 2023 (Rio de Janeiro).

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