March 16, 2015
On the heels of daylight saving time on Sunday, March 8, LCWA client the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) declared Monday, March 9, the second annual Insomnia Awareness Day – reminding those who suffer from chronic insomnia that help is available from the sleep team and an AASM-accredited sleep center. As a result of LCWA’s outreach, our sleep experts were featured in influential consumer outlets including The Wall Street Journal, the Daily Herald and Huffington Post. LCWA also coordinated a Huffington Post blog piece from AASM President Dr. Timothy Morgenthaler. To reach even more insomniacs suffering from sleep loss, LCWA coordinated a Twitter #InsomniaChat, and secured a Wall Street Journal health columnist to serve as moderator. The chat included more than 50 participants and earned more than 470,000 timeline deliveries on Twitter.
Temporary insomnia symptoms, which occur in about 30 to 35 percent of adults, can be caused by a sudden change in schedule, such as the one-hour shift to daylight saving time. LCWA shared tips to help Americans cope with the potential hour of sleep loss and recommended options for seeking treatment for sleep illnesses. As many as 10 percent of adults have a chronic insomnia disorder, which involves ongoing difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, or regularly waking up earlier than desired, despite an adequate opportunity for sleep. For more information on sleep illness or the AASM, visit sleepeducation.com.