Histoire de la médecine du sommeil en France

The history of sleep medicine in France goes back to pioneers, the first one of whom might have been André du Laurens (1558-1609). The next stages were the organization of heralding congresses in 1927, 1963 and 1975, and the development of animal or human basic research laboratories in several universities. Then came the era of the first diagnostic all night sleep recordings, in the early 1960s, in subjects affected by diseases of changing expression during sleep or in subjects with sleep disorders. Finally, in the 1970s, genuine sleep disorders centers were created, allowing the routine investigation of patients and the development of clinical research. From the 1980s onward, sleep education both at the university and as continuous education started, specialized journals and books were edited, and a sleep society was created. On 21 April 2017, a decree fixing a list of diplomas and of options and transversal specialized trainings during the third cycle of medical studies was published. Sleep medicine was one of these 23 options and transversal specialized trainings, signing the official recognition of this new branch of medicine. What about the future of sleep medicine? One line is spreading the high frequency of sleep disorders and of their risks, and a second one is enhancing the research on sleep disorders and using modern methods in sleep research.