Clinical update sleep: year in review 2015–2016

Sleep disorders are becoming increasingly prevalent secondary to elevated levels of light-, noise- and stress-exposure in addition to rising levels of obesity. Sleep medicine is experiencing an exponential gain of knowledge that can be explained by several factors: (I) advanced physiological monitoring at night; (II) improved follow-up of patients; and (III) greater collaboration between specialties that have contributed to our understanding of long-term complications. Advances in device technology and interventions, such as minimally invasive surgery, have further helped to speed up the development of available treatment options. It does not come as a surprise that sleep medicine is ever more important and provides the perfect background for an interdisciplinary collaboration between basic scientists, clinicians and epidemiologists. This overview is dedicated to recent advances and hot topics of sleep medicine that have the potential to impact standards of care.