Sleep Awareness Days – Latvia (LaMSA)

Name of the activity: Sleep Awareness Days

Country/NMO: Latvia (LaMSA)

Program: Mental Health

Type of the activity: Campaign

General description:

Sleep and its quality is a major health determinant and a wide variety of physiological processes that ensure health of an individual. WHO has linked sleep with various comorbidities. Raising awareness of healthy sleep and its impact on daily lives is the main goal of this Activity. By having partnerships with national medical facilities, having an active social media and fresh and topical background (like this 500 people survey) maximum public reach and awareness is to be achieved.

Focus area:

Mental Health advocacy and public awareness

Problem statement:

In a survey of 500 people it was stated – 20% of respondents have sleep disturbances 3 or more days per week; more than 50% have felt sleepy while driving, eating or communicating; a positive correlation between sleep quality and daily enthusiasm self assessments was found – the worse is the sleep, the harder it is to feel enthusiasm about getting things done.

Target groups and beneficiaries:

General population (vs. SCOME – medical students, or SCORA – gender divided) with extra focus on young adults and working age people.

Objectives and indicators of success:

>Maximum national public reach – we have reached national social media, television and local radio station, who had a guest in their studio in Morning News, our Facebook event had reached 61 000 people on the first day of the event.
>Public awareness – The public response is positive, first day lectures recording on event page has 3500 views at the moment.

Methodology:

Working with national medical facilities – this year we had a partnership with Riga Stradiņš University Clinic of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic medicine. This way we can reach both our and our partners public. By working actively on social media, press releases, colourful event pages, small contests with prizes both maximum reach and public interest are achieved and thus – the public awareness. By having academic lecturers praised among students and professional medical workers we can make a free and energetic atmosphere and encourage the discussion, some have admitted that they had not thought about the importance and alarming signals of such a common and seemingly vital part of their everyday life as sleep.

Plans for evaluation:

The media reach – event page information, tags in social media, university pages, mentions in television, radiostations, reposts.