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Where to turn

When sleepiness keeps returning during the day, it is not a character trait, and willpower is not enough. Talk to your doctor; sleep centres can help with further tests and questions.

34 certified centres in Switzerland
Published: 26.09.2026

Three steps

  1. Observe

    Keep notes for one or two weeks

    How many hours you sleep, when sleepiness arrives, whether it happens at the wheel. Whoever sleeps next to you can tell whether your breathing pauses or whether you move in your sleep.

  2. Talk

    To your GP

    Your family doctor is the first point of contact: they know your history, review any medication and other causes and, if needed, refer you to a specialist.

  3. Investigate

    At a sleep centre

    Tests such as polysomnography are usually done on a doctor's referral. Switzerland has 34 certified centres.

At the wheel, meanwhile: when sleepiness sets in, the first thing to do is stop.
Three things to do, with the sources →

Your observations

Ten questions to help you organise what you notice before you talk to your doctor or a sleep centre. No score, no diagnosis. Your answers stay on your device: we do not receive or store them.

By day

1In recent months, have you been falling asleep without meaning to during the day, for example while reading, in front of a screen or in a meeting?
2In recent months, have you had to fight off sleep while driving?

At night

3How many hours do you usually sleep, on working days and on days off?
4For more than three months, on at least three nights a week, have you had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or waking too early?
5Has anyone noticed that you snore loudly or that your breathing pauses while you sleep?

The body

6When resting, especially in the evening or at night, do you feel an urge to move your legs, with unpleasant sensations that ease when you move?
7Has a strong emotion, such as laughter, ever suddenly made your knees buckle or your head drop for a moment, while you stayed awake?
8Has anyone seen you shout, punch or kick in your sleep, as if acting out a dream?

Work and medicines

9Do you work shifts or nights?
10Do you regularly take medicines, including over-the-counter ones, that can cause sleepiness?

Certified centres in Switzerland

34 centres recognised by the Swiss Society for Sleep Research, Sleep Medicine and Chronobiology (SSSSC). The dot marks the town and the number shows how many centres it has.

ITALY ↗FRANCE ↗GERMANY ↗AUSTRIA ↗Geneva: 3 centresGeneva 3Lausanne: 3 centresLausanne 3Sion: 1 centreSionNeuchâtel: 1 centreNeuchâtelBiel/Bienne: 1 centreBern: 3 centresBern 3Unterseen: 1 centreSolothurn: 1 centreBasel: 2 centresBasel 2Liestal: 1 centreBarmelweid: 1 centreZurzach: 1 centreZurich: 6 centresZurich 6Horgen: 1 centreAathal: 1 centreWald: 1 centreLucerne: 2 centresLucerne 2St. Gallen: 1 centreSt. GallenMünsterlingen: 1 centreChur: 1 centreChurLugano: 1 centreLugano

Lake Geneva region

  • Centre d'investigation et de recherche sur le sommeil (CIRS), CHUVLausanne · VD
  • Centre du sommeil de FlorimontLausanne · VD
  • Centre lausannois de médecine du sommeilLausanne · VD
  • Centre de médecine du sommeil, HUGChêne-Bourg · GE
  • Centre du sommeil CENASChêne-Bourg · GE
  • Centre SommeilSantéGenève · GE
  • Centre de médecine du sommeil, Hôpital du ValaisSion · VS

Espace Mittelland

  • Centre de médecine du sommeil, RHNeNeuchâtel · NE
  • Schlafzentrum Linde, Centre du sommeilBiel/Bienne · BE
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, InselspitalBern · BE
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, LindenhofspitalBern · BE
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Salem-SpitalBern · BE
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Spital InterlakenUnterseen · BE
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Solothurner SpitälerSolothurn · SO

Northwestern Switzerland

  • Zentrum für Schlaf- und Chronomedizin der Basler UniversitätsklinikenBasel · BS
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Bethesda Spital und ClaraspitalBasel · BS
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin Nordwestschweiz, Kantonsspital BasellandLiestal · BL
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Klinik BarmelweidBarmelweid · AG
  • Klinik für Schlafmedizin, ZURZACH CareZurzach · AG

Zurich

  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Universitätsspital ZürichZürich · ZH
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Stadtspital Zürich TriemliZürich · ZH
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Kinderspital ZürichZürich · ZHchildren and teenagers
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Klinik Lengg (Schweizerisches Epilepsie-Zentrum)Zürich · ZH
  • Zentrum für Schlaf- und Stressmedizin, Neurozentrum OerlikonZürich · ZH
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin Hirslanden ZürichZollikon · ZH
  • Schlafzentrum Zürichsee, See-Spital HorgenHorgen · ZH
  • Schlafzentrum FiechterAathal · ZH
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin Zürcher OberlandWald · ZH

Central Switzerland

  • Hofklinik für Wach- und SchlafmedizinLuzern · LU
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Luzerner KantonsspitalLuzern · LU

Eastern Switzerland

  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin, Kantonsspital St. GallenSt. Gallen · SG
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin MünsterlingenMünsterlingen · TG
  • Zentrum für Schlafmedizin und Heimventilation, Kantonsspital GraubündenChur · GR

Ticino

Source: SSSSC list of certified centres, accessed 26.09.2026. Current addresses and contacts: schlafzentrum.swiss-sleep.ch ↗
Borders and lakes: Swiss Federal Statistical Office, via swiss-maps.

Across the border

If you live or work near the border: the official lists and references of the sleep medicine societies in neighbouring countries.

Before treatment abroad, check cover with your health insurer.

This page offers orientation and does not replace a medical consultation. Drive Awake has no ties to the centres listed, except the EOC, the project's scientific partner. The list is not a ranking.

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Video · The Monte Verità voices

The voices of the science

The World Sleep Forum video interviews that speak to this section's themes: sleepiness, disorders, sleep deprivation. Each voice goes online only with a signed authorisation.

▶︎ 0:45 Prof. Michael H. Silber · Professor of Neurology, Mayo Clinic Sleepiness is not normal Watch → ▶︎ 0:49 Prof. Carlos H. Schenck · University of Minnesota, RBD and sexsomnia A sleep-deprived society Watch → ▶︎ 1:45 Prof. Mauro Manconi · sleep neurologist, EOC Sleep is treacherous Watch → ▶︎ 1:23 Prof. Pierre Philip · sleep medicine and sleepiness at the wheel Sleep and public health Watch → ▶︎ 1:16 Prof. Gert Jan Lammers · Professor of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center · SEIN, Heemstede The risk is not only the patients' Watch →

All the voices →

Take part · Official evaluation

Have you ever driven while sleepy? The official intervista AG evaluation measures awareness in Switzerland: 10 anonymous minutes, with a CHF 200 Galaxus voucher to be won.

Take the survey →