FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Lynn Celmer, 630-737-9700, ext. 9364, lcelmer@aasm.org

DARIEN, IL – The American Sleep Medicine Foundation congratulates Jasper Lown of Wheaton, Ill., who is the grand-prize winner of the 2013 ASMF Sleep Story Video Contest. Lown is a senior at Wheaton-Warrenville South High School, where his sponsoring teacher was Tim Brylka.

Lown’s two-minute video highlighting the importance of sleep won the first-place prize of $1,000, which will be split between him and his school.  The video, which focuses on the health benefits of sleep and provides simple tips to improve sleep habits, is available on the YouTube channel of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine at www.youtube.com/user/AASMorg.

“The high school video contest has been a great success as measured by the high quality of the videos submitted, the creativity and thoughtfulness of the entrants and the opportunity to stimulate interest in sleep among high school students,” said ASMF President Dr. Merrill Wise.

Launched in April 2013, the ASMF’s Sleep Story Video Contest issued a nationwide creative challenge to high school filmmakers to tell a sleep story to help shine a light on the effects of sleep problems.  The 23 submissions were evaluated by a panel of sleep medicine physicians and researchers and judged based on appropriateness of message, originality, creativity and the overall quality of the video.  Additional prizes were awarded for the videos submitted by first runner-up Lewie Kloster of Minneapolis, Minn. and second runner-up Brock Dehaven of Princeton, N.J.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, only about 30 percent of U.S. high school students get at least eight hours of sleep on an average school night.  Chronic insufficient sleep during adolescence can impair academic performance and lead to mood disturbances, while also increasing the risk of health problems and drowsy driving.

The ASMF is a not-for-profit charitable and scientific organization established in 1998 by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM). As the leading foundation promoting sleep research and education, the ASMF has awarded more than $6 million in grants for sleep research, educational initiatives and humanitarian aid campaigns. The mission of the ASMF is to enhance sleep health for all through research, education and humanitarian aid.  Learn more at www.discoversleep.org.