Satellite Club Hypnos | Events Outside SRS

To help each Satellite Club Hypnos event serve as a meaningful outreach and recruitment opportunity, all organizers are asked to incorporate a few core elements into their event planning. These expectations are intended to ensure that attendees have a clear opportunity to learn about the Sleep Research Society, understand the benefits of membership, and stay connected after the event. The materials included in this organizer guide are designed to make each of these steps easy to implement, while still leaving plenty of room for organizers to tailor the event to their conference, audience, venue, and local style.

All Satellite Club Hypnos events should include the following:

Promote the event in advance.
Organizers should advertise the event ahead of time using the promotional graphics provided and relevant variations of the provided language. Advance promotion is essential for reaching potential new members, especially attendees who may be interested in sleep and circadian science but are not yet familiar with the SRS.

Collect attendee sign-ins for follow-up.
Attendees should be asked to sign in at the event so SRS staff can follow up with membership information, resources, and future opportunities. This is one of the most important ways these events can support recruitment and help interested attendees stay connected after the conference. See the event toolkit for the form link.

Include a scientific content component.
Each Satellite Club Hypnos event should include some form of scientific content related to sleep and/or circadian science. The format of this component is intentionally flexible and should be tailored to the expected audience, event setting, available time, and whether audiovisual equipment is available. Examples could include a mini-data blitz, keynote address, symposium-style presentations, poster presentations, speed networking for researchers, lightning-talk mixers, or an informal chalk talk. The goal is not to require a highly formal scientific program, but to ensure that each event includes a meaningful scientific element that supports intellectual exchange, highlights the relevance of sleep and circadian science, and creates opportunities for attendees to connect around shared research interests.

Share SRS membership benefits.
Organizers should have copies of the SRS Member Benefits handout, provided in the event toolkit, available on site and take a brief moment during the event to highlight a few key benefits of membership. This does not need to be a formal presentation, but attendees should leave with a clear sense of how the SRS supports researchers, clinicians, trainees, and professionals across career stages.

Encourage attendees to complete the feedback form.
After the event, attendees will receive a brief feedback form. Organizers should encourage attendees to complete it so the SRS can better understand who attended, what worked well, how future Satellite Club Hypnos events can be improved, and if there are other benefits that could be developed to enhance recruitment of new members.

Beyond these core expectations, organizers are encouraged to be creative and make the event feel engaging, welcoming, and fun. Additional optional materials and ideas are included in this guide for organizers who want to incorporate activities, structured networking, brief remarks, social media engagement, or other elements that fit the spirit of SRS and the audience at their meeting.