The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is the organizer and sponsor of National Sleep Awareness Week ® (NSAW), an annual public education, information and awareness campaign. Now in its ninth year, this nationwide effort is the cornerstone for multiple initiatives designed to make sleep consciousness a part of every person’s lifestyle. This year’s theme is "Sleep: As Important as Diet and Exercise (Only Easier!)"
Each year, the timing of the campaign coincides with the return to Daylight Saving Time, when clocks "spring forward" at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in April – a time when most Americans lose an hour of sleep! The 2006 campaign is March 27-April 2.
A highlight of the weeklong campaign is NSF’s Sleep in America poll, which will be released this year on Tuesday, March 28. The 2006 poll focuses on the sleep of America’s adolescents (ages 11-17, grades 6-12) and how sleep problems affect their performance in nearly every aspect of teenage life – academically, psychologically and physically.
NSF’s Community Sleep Awareness Partners ® (CSAPs) are sleep centers that join the Foundation’s efforts to promote healthy sleep in their local communities. More than 700 CSAPs work in partnership with NSF throughout the year.
In addition, nearly 100 federal and state agencies, nonprofit organizations and associations work in support of NSAW as Sleep Awareness Co-sponsors, tapping their own membership and communications networks to help spread the word about the importance of sleep to health, safety and well-being. Among this year’s co-sponsors are the American College of Chest Physicians; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health; Federal Aviation Administration; Federal Railroad Administration; Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration; National Association of Secondary School Principals; National Association of Student Councils; and the National Transportation Safety Board.
Joining NSF as 2006 Campaign Partners are the American Federation of Teachers, American School Counselor Association, National Association of Elementary School Principals, and National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners
Among NSF’s varied events and activities for this year’s NSAW are:
* NSF’s News Conference will outline the findings of the 2006 Sleep in America poll. The press conference will be held at 10:00 a.m. on March 28 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Speakers will include poll task force members Mary Carskadon, PhD; Jodi Mindell, PhD; and Christopher Drake, PhD.
* Sleep Loss and Obesity: Interacting Epidemics, a state-of-the-science workshop, will be presented by NSF, the International Life Sciences Institute – North America, and the Atlanta School of Sleep Medicine. Top researchers in the fields of sleep, circadian rhythms, nutrition, endocrinology and metabolism will gather March 27-28 in Washington, D.C., to examine mounting evidence that sleep deprivation and quality are tied to obesity, and that obesity is associated with sleep apnea and other sleep problems.
* NSF’s 6th Annual "Night of a Thousand Dreams" Gala celebrates achievements in the field of sleep and provides an opportunity for NSF to raise funds for its education, research and advocacy programs. Among the highlights is the presentation of the Foundation’s annual leadership awards. This year’s guest of honor is Haskell Wexler, a legendary filmmaker who recently directed Who Needs Sleep?, a documentary that investigates the dangerous connection between sleep deprivation and the 15- to 18-hour work days that are common for crew workers in the film industry. Master of ceremonies is former NBC White House correspondent John Palmer, an NSF director. The Gala will be held Monday, March 27 in Washington, D.C.
* NSF’s 2006 Healthy Sleep Community Award recognizes outstanding efforts to initiate or continue a sleep activity or program with effective, long-lasting results on a significant proportion of a population. The eighth annual winner will be announced on March 28 at the NSF press conference.
* NSF’s "Adopt A School...For Sleep Education" Program encourages sleep specialists throughout the country to speak about sleep in schools in their local communities during NSAW and at other times throughout the year.
National Sleep Awareness Week ® is a registered trademark of the Foundation. NSF will provide regular updates and information about NSAW activities on its website at www.sleepfoundation.org.
NSF Background
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health and safety by achieving greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders. NSF furthers its mission through sleep-related education, research and advocacy initiatives. NSF’s membership includes researchers and clinicians focused on sleep medicine as well as other professionals in the health/medical/science fields, individuals, and more than 700 sleep clinics throughout North America that join the Foundation’s Community Sleep Awareness Partners program. NSF can be found online at www.sleepfoundation.org.
NSF’s financial support comes from a variety of diverse sources, including memberships, sales of educational materials, advertising, investment income, individual donations, subscriptions, and educational grants from foundations, federal agencies, and corporations including pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical companies. Corporate grants are accepted on an unrestricted basis only. NSF alone determines the ideas and content published or promoted in its educational programs.
This year’s NSAW contributors include: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP; Dove Calming Night; GlaxoSmithkline; Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Nellcor Puritan Bennett; Organon International Inc.; Pfizer/Neurocrine Alliance; sanofi-aventis U.S.; Sealy Inc.; Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America; and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
NSF does not solicit nor accept funding for its annual Sleep in America polls; NSF polls are developed independently by Foundation staff working with a task force of sleep scientists who provide guidance and expertise in developing the poll questionnaire and analysis of the data.
