Sleep and the social impact of sleep associated symptoms have become more important with a demanding modern lifestyle. Recent years have seen a significant increase in patients reporting symptoms of hypersomnia and insomnia, or circadian rhythm disorders. The world-wide obesity epidemic has also led to a significant rise in the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing, particularly in obstructive sleep apnoea. New insights into the complex relationship between parasomnias and neurodegenerative conditions emphasize the importance of sleep medicine to public health.

However, sleep disorders remain under-recognised by the medical community, which is largely due to the failure to question patients about their sleep quality and related symptoms and the difficulty in having sufficient capacity to assess the patient during sleep.

The 5th Clinical Update Sleep™ will guide the delegates through the latest developments of sleep medicine, and review the evidence for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with sleep disorders, including obstructive sleep apnoea, hypersomnia, parasomnia and insomnia, as well as circadian rhythm disorders.

The conference is set up in a multi-disciplinary approach to highlight different aspects of the management of patients with sleep disorders. An update on the latest clinical trials and hot topics, as well as a symposium by the British Sleep Society concludes the day. A poster session will provide investigators the chance to present original data and network among their peer group.

The event is held in an open space environment at the Royal College of Physicians in London to encourage interaction and exchange, interesting topics will be showcased throughout the day in a parallel-stream programme, allowing to choose and pick the most interesting speakers as you go.

The final programme provided open access in the conference proceedings and on admission. The exclusive publisher of the proceedings is the Journal of Thoracic Disease.