Delegate: Elena Maricela Majano Muñoz MD
Affiliation: Bernes Medical Sleep Medicine and Neurology Private Center, since 2011
Short Bio: Dr. Elena Majano/ Medical Director of Bernes Medical/Internal Medicine, Neurology & Sleep Medicine Specialist.
Studies:
- Inselspital – Universitätsspital Bern, Switzerland.
- Neurosciences Institute, Favaloro Foundation, Somnos Private Sleep Medicine Institute and Dr. Alfredo Thomson “Neurology Center attached to former French Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Since 2011, Dr. Majano has led the first private sleep medicine practice in El Salvador, exclusively dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders, establishing a foundation for the growth of sleep medicine at a national level.
2012: Appointed as the inaugural Delegate of El Salvador to the World Sleep Society, marking the country’s formal representation in the global sleep medicine community.
2015: Winner of Distinguished Activity Awardees
2017: Winner of Distinguished Activity Awardees
2018: Winner of Distinguished Activity Awardees
2023: Winner of Distinguished Activity Awardees
2024: Winner of Distinguished Activity Awardees
2025: Winner of Antonio Culebras Award
2019-2020-2021: WSD Honorable Mentions
Our Mission and Vision
At Bernes Medical Sleep Center, we are driven by a clear mission: to position sleep as a fundamental pillar of health and quality of life. Through education and advocacy, we aim to reach individuals across all age groups, promoting healthy sleep practices while raising awareness of the significant risks associated with untreated sleep disorders.
While we are a private sleep medicine center, our vision extends beyond clinical care. We actively lead continuous medical education and public awareness initiatives, working in collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry to expand knowledge, influence clinical practice, and improve access to sleep health resources at a national level.
Our Commitment
We believe that achieving 7 to 8 hours of restorative, high-quality sleep is not only possible but essential. In El Salvador, this goal is increasingly attainable thanks to the availability of trained sleep specialists, modern diagnostic tools, and effective, evidence-based treatments. Our work focuses on bridge this gap between possibility and reality.
World Sleep Day 2026 – Expanding Impact Through Collaboration
In 2026, we elevated our efforts by building strategic alliances that significantly broadened the reach and impact of our World Sleep Day campaign. These partnerships allowed us to extend our message beyond traditional settings, increasing visibility and strengthening public engagement with sleep health.
Strategic Partners
- Bernes Medical – Sleep Medicine and Neurology, El Salvador
- Medpharma Laboratories, El Salvador
- ADIUM Laboratories, El Salvador
- INFRASALUD, El Salvador
A Month of Sleep Awareness
Since 2023, our initiative has evolved from a single awareness week into a nationwide movement:
“Sleeping Well is Living Better – Celebrate it All March.”
In alignment with this year’s global message, we transformed March 2026 into a sustained, high-impact campaign. Through continuous activities carried out throughout the month, we reinforced the importance of sleep as a cornerstone of health, positioning it not only as a medical priority but as a public health imperative.
Since 2012, we have maintained a yearly tradition of designing a World Sleep Day banner aligned with the global slogan. This visual identity serves as a unifying element across all our educational activities, accompanying every lecture throughout March and extending its presence year-round in our ongoing efforts to promote healthy sleep.
As part of our outreach strategy, we also create a custom-designed chocolate wrapper, presented as a gesture of appreciation to television programs that support and amplify World Sleep Day awareness through media engagement.
In 2026, we expanded our initiative by developing a comprehensive World Sleep Day Kit. This kit included our signature promotional sleep button, along with thoughtfully selected items to reinforce the message of rest and relaxation: a candle and a lavender-based relaxing soap. These materials were distributed as part of our educational and awareness activities.
Please find the accompanying images below.
This year, the World Sleep Day 2026 slogan was translated into Spanish as: “Dormir bien, vivir mejor.”
Media Outreach – World Sleep Day (March 13, 2026)
On World Sleep Day, we launched our national awareness campaign through high-impact television appearances, reaching a wide and diverse audience across El Salvador.
We began early in the morning on Frente a Frente, the most widely viewed morning program in the country, with a one-hour national broadcast discussing World Sleep Day, the global benefits of healthy sleep, and engaging directly with viewers through live questions.
At 10:00 a.m., we continued on Hola El Salvador, the highest-rated mid-morning program nationwide, where we addressed World Sleep Day 2026 and raised awareness about sleep apnea.
Immediately afterward, we joined Salud TV for an additional one-hour segment, focusing on insomnia across all age groups, with special emphasis on menopause-related sleep disturbances and pediatric insomnia. The session included real-time audience interaction and allowed for an in-depth discussion of the World Sleep Day 2026 message.
This coordinated media effort enabled us to deliver consistent, evidence-based messaging and significantly expand public engagement within a single morning.
Impact Summary
- Total media exposure: 3 national television programs in one morning
- Total broadcast time: Approximately 3 hours of live, nationwide coverage
- Audience reach: High-impact exposure through top-rated national programs, reaching a broad and diverse population across El Salvador
- Key topics addressed: World Sleep Day 2026, sleep as a pillar of health, sleep apnea, insomnia across the lifespan (including menopause and pediatric sleep), and practical sleep health education
- Engagement: Real-time interaction with viewers through live questions, enhancing public understanding and participation
- Strategic value: Coordinated media presence ensured consistent messaging and maximized awareness within a concentrated timeframe
This intensive media effort significantly amplified the visibility of World Sleep Day 2026, positioning sleep health as a national conversation and reinforcing its importance as a public health priority.
Supporting Materials
Please see the accompanying images below.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HT69EESjM/
Continuing Medical Education Activities – World Sleep Day 2026
As part of our World Sleep Day 2026 initiative, we conducted four major continuing medical education activities, designed to engage healthcare professionals across different specialties and levels of care.
Our program began on March 11 with a regional webinar for Central America, sponsored by one of our strongest allies in promoting healthy sleep in El Salvador, Medpharma Laboratories (see invitation below). This event achieved a record attendance of 561 connected healthcare professionals, reflecting a remarkable level of regional engagement.
The webinar focused on World Sleep Day 2026, with the Media Toolkit 2026, developed by the World Sleep Day Committee, serving as the central framework and guiding theme for all discussions. We then explored insomnia in depth, including the practical presentation of two clinical cases. Special emphasis was placed on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as a cornerstone of treatment, along with an update on current pharmacological approaches.
On March 12, with the support of ADIUM Laboratories, we held an in-person conference with geriatricians and psychiatrists, focusing on the impact of sleep on memory, cognitive decline, and the risk of dementia. The event was attended by 35 specialists and was highly successful (see photos below).
On the evening of March 13, we hosted our flagship World Sleep Day 2026 conference, a well-established and highly anticipated annual event. This took place at the Hilton Hotel in San Salvador, with the support of Medpharma Laboratories, and was attended by 75 physicians from multiple specialties.
During this conference, we covered:
- The history of World Sleep Day
- El Salvador’s integration into the World Sleep Society and World Sleep Day initiatives since 2012
- A detailed review of the Media Toolkit 2026, including key messages from the World Sleep Day Co-Chairs
- Discussion of the article “Awakening to Sleep: Sixteen Years of Global Initiatives and Future Directions”
- Development of the official Key Messages for World Sleep Day
- The future of sleep medicine, including emerging pharmacological treatments, phenotyping approaches, home-based diagnostic testing for sleep apnea, advances in narcolepsy treatment, weight reduction strategies for sleep apnea, and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in sleep medicine
The evening was marked by high levels of engagement, with dynamic discussions, spontaneous participation from colleagues, and a strong sense of professional connection. The event also included a shared dinner, raffles and prizes, live music, and a celebratory atmosphere that extended until midnight—symbolically, “Cinderella time.”
Our final activity was a webinar designed for general practitioners, family physicians, and internists, conducted in collaboration with INFRASALUD, a Salvadoran company and pioneer in the treatment of sleep apnea, with over 25 years of experience introducing non-invasive ventilation technologies in the country.
This session focused on sleep apnea in a dynamic and practical format, aimed at facilitating early recognition, timely diagnosis, and appropriate referral to specialized sleep centers. The webinar lasted over two hours, with 55 physicians actively connected, representing another highly successful educational effort (see invitation below).
Educational Impact Statement
Through these four high-impact continuing medical education activities, we successfully engaged a broad spectrum of healthcare professionals, ranging from general practitioners to subspecialists, at both national and regional levels. With a cumulative audience exceeding 700 participants, our initiative reinforced the importance of sleep as a core pillar of health and strengthened clinical awareness of sleep disorders.
By integrating the World Sleep Day 2026 Media Toolkit as the central framework across all activities, we ensured consistency in messaging while adapting content to diverse clinical audiences. The combination of large-scale webinars, targeted specialist discussions, and interactive case-based learning facilitated both knowledge dissemination and practical application.
These efforts contributed to improving early recognition, diagnosis, and management of sleep disorders, while also fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and long-term engagement with sleep medicine in El Salvador and the Central American region.
At the conclusion of this journey for better sleep, framed by World Sleep Day, I feel deeply fulfilled once again. This has been a meaningful collaboration with our strategic partners, united by a shared commitment to delivering high-quality, up-to-date, and scientifically grounded information.
Our work does not end in March—because for me, all of 2026 is World Sleep Day. This is not a moment, but a movement: a sustained effort to position sleep as a fundamental pillar of health in our society.
Looking ahead to 2027, and in alignment with the upcoming global slogan, we will once again embrace the creative and artistic dimension of World Sleep Day. Because sleep and art walk together—side by side—as El Salvador has already shown in 2024 and 2025.
We will continue to educate. We will continue to inspire. We will continue to lead.
Because when a country learns to sleep better, it learns to live better.
“We are a small country in size—but in sleep medicine, we dream big, lead boldly, and care deeply.”
All the WSD 2026 Activities:
Location: San Salvador, El Salvador
Date of Activity: March 2026
Submitted By: Elena Maricela Majano MD
World Sleep Day Kit and Media Outreach – World Sleep Day (March 13, 2026):
Continuing Medical Education Activities – World Sleep Day 2026:
Our flagship World Sleep Day 2026 conference:
