photo by People Creations via PikWizard
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) announced this year’s winners of their annual ‘Sleep is Essential’ video contest, which showcases student talent and helps educate teens all over the country on the importance of sleep health. In a May 6th press release, the academy, one of the largest sleep-health organizations in the country, gave its annual prizes and other accolades to the three high school students who took first place, second place, and the “teen’s choice award” for 2021. The aim of the contest was to create a short but informative video about the importance of proper sleep. Opened in January, the contest’s final due date was on February 16 by midnight, giving student a short time to put together something memorable. The awards, split evenly between the student and their school, were $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for the teen’s choice award, which are chosen by a select group of judges.
“I congratulate these three teens for creating such entertaining and informative videos,” AASM President Dr. Kannan Ramar said in the press release. “I thank all of the participants and their teachers for raising awareness about the importance of sleep for teen health and safety, and I hope their efforts will further promote healthy sleep in young adults.”
The Contest
The AASM’s annual ‘Sleep is Essential’ contest is open to high school students from anywhere in the U.S. who have permission from a parent or guardian and sponsorship from a teacher or school. Entrants have to create a video of original material from 15 to 60 seconds long that delivers the ‘Sleep is Essential’ message, that is, that sleep is essential to health and wellbeing. The videos are then posted on applications such as Instagram, Tiktok, or YouTube.
This year, the AASM reports that they received over 80 video submissions from students all over the country. Once the deadline passes, the submissions are then evaluated by a panel of judges from the AASM’s Education Committee. After the committee decides on the first two awardees, another panel of 11 teenagers decide on the “Teen’s Choice Award” for third place. The teen panel is made up of Youth Ambassadors from the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), a coalition of organizations and government agencies that promote health and safety issues for adolescents.
According to the AASM website, the ‘Sleep is Essential’ videos are evaluated for “originality and quality, as well as appropriateness, relevance, and accuracy.” But the most important consideration is how the ‘Sleep is Essential’ message is conveyed. Video submissions could have any style or genre, such as animation, drama, comedy, or documentary, as long as they helped viewers understand that sleep is essential and provided information about the subject.
The Message
The message these videos convey is important for any time period but especially during a pandemic when sleep problems have been on the rise. The AASM recommends that adolescents (between ages 13 and 18) should sleep at least eight to ten hours per night on a regular basis for proper health. Despite these recommendations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show that a majority (nearly 75 percent) of U.S. high school students report sleeping fewer than eight hours a night. Over time, this can numerous negative impacts on health and safety, including learning difficulties and high potential for automobile accidents. And according to the AASM, this type of chronic sleep loss can also influence teens’ decision-making, putting personal and public safety at risk. The AASM lists a number of factors that can influence sleep loss for adolescents, including the overuse and social media, too much screen time late at night, and binge watching of programs.
The Winners
The first-prize winner of this year’s ‘Sleep is Essential’ video contest was 12th-grader Trinity Klomparens from the Christian Language Center Co-Op in Arlington, Washington. Her sponserting teacher was Amy Klomparens, and her video was both humorous and informative. Titled simply “Sleep is Essential,” this video does a great job of using visual and graphics tools to explain some rather complex brain physiology in a way that is simple and easy to understand.
You can find this award-winning video here on YouTube.
Second place went to Priya Agarwal, an 11th-grade student at Westridge High School in Pasadena, California. Her sponsoring teacher was Sandy de Grije, and her video had a good balance of the positive aspects of sleep with the negative consequences of not getting enough. The title of this video, “Why sleep is essential,” is appropriate, given the litany of reasons presented for why sleep is essential for a safe and healthy life.
You can find this award-winning video here on YouTube.
The Teen’s Choice Award went to Bree Hollis, another 11th-grader from Christ Episcopal School in Covington, Louisiana. With the help of her sponsoring teacher, Jessica James, Bree made a video that explains all of the great things proper sleep can do for you. Titled “Sweet Dreams,” this video explains all the things good sleep does for the body and mind, with an emphasis on teenagers. This video had less graphic or visual aids than the other two, but still had plenty of enthusiasm for the subject. And Hollis did a great job as the video host.
You can find this award-winning video here on YouTube.
You can also visit the AASM ‘Sleep is Essential’ contest webpage for more information and previous contest winners.
About the AASM
Established in 1975 as the Association of Sleep Disorders Centers, the AASM has grown to be one of the largest and most influential sleep-health organizations in the nation. Their mission, to advance sleep care and enhance sleep health to improve lives, is both simply and large in scope, requiring a coalition effort by physicians, scientists, and other healthcare professionals throughout the country. The AASM currently has a combined membership of 11,000 accredited member sleep centers and individual members, many involved in the active promotion of sleep-health through programs like the ‘Sleep is Essential’ high school video contest.
Sources
American Academy of Sleep Medicine - https://aasm.org/
American Academy of Sleep Medicine ‘Sleep is Essential’ Webpage - https://sleepeducation.org/get-involved/campaigns/high-school-video-contest/
Ameriacn Academy of Sleep Medicine ‘Sleep is Essential’ Winners - https://aasm.org/aasm-congratulates-winners-of-2021-sleep-is-essential-high-school-video-contest/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/data_statistics.html
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine - AASM Sleep Recommendations - https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.5866
Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine - Adolescents and Accidents - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2823274/
National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS) - https://noys.org/
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074885/Sleep and Vigilance - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7711056/
Preventative Medicine - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21843548/
‘Sleep is Essential’ First Place Video by Trinity Klomparens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4qNfea_j28&ab_channel=TrinityKlomparens
‘Sleep is Essential’ Second Place Video by Priya Agarwal - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmD77PSwWf0&ab_channel=PriyaAgarwal
‘Sleep is Essential’ Teen’s Choice Award Video by Bree Hollis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35-FQ6CbaRQ&ab_channel=BreeHollis