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Raising Awareness

Raising Awareness

Each and every day provides unique opportunities to spread awareness of sleep and sleep disorders, a challenge that many of our member-volunteers zealously accept. Whether one has spent a week or many years struggling with an undiagnosed sleep disorder, they can help spread the word about sleep and sleep disorders ranging from quality of life issues to safety and health risks.

Raising awareness usually begins in small but important ways. Mention your diagnosis in conversations with the people you encounter day to day. Each person you educate has the potential to spread the message to all the people they know.

While knowledge and awareness among medical professionals have increased in recent years, there’s still a long way to go. Surprisingly, many people don’t discuss sleep with their physicians, and most physicians don’t ask.

It’s important to have a basic understanding of the more common sleep disorders. The websites of the National Sleep Foundation and Talkaboutsleep, and others contain comprehensive information about sleep and sleep disorders. It is only necessary to know the basics.

While Narcolepsy Network primarily serves people with narcolepsy, we encourage our members to approach the topic of sleep as broadly as possible in raising awareness. Many groups seek speakers for their meetings, from Rotary, Lions and Kiwanis clubs to AARP chapters, schools and social groups. There are also regional meetings of professionals, from neurologists to family practitioners and school nurses that can benefit from increased knowledge of sleep disorders. Or, consider scheduling a talk on Sleep and Sleep Disorders at your local public library or writing an article for your local newspaper.

Want to connect with another member who is more experienced in increasing sleep awareness? Contact us.

School Awareness

Narcolepsy onset typically occurs during the adolescent years. Excessive daytime sleepiness is usually the first symptom to present and will be most pronounced during periods of physical inactivity. Where else but school do you find adolescents and teens inactive for long periods during the day? This makes school the most important place to screen for narcolepsy in order to promote early recognition leading to diagnosis.

Thus was born Narcolepsy Network’s newest awareness brochure, Narcolepsy in the Classroom! We have sent this brochure to over 8000 school nurses throughout the U.S. but we’ve just scratched the surface. There are over 17,500 school districts in the U.S., each with multiple schools, and thousands of private schools to reach. We have plans to expand the reach of this brochure to pediatricians and other groups that serve children. You can help by providing a copy of our brochure to school nurses, guidance counselors and other key administrators at your local schools. We have also prepared a list of Talking Points for handy reference when discussing this brochure with school personnel.

Click on the links below to save, download and/or print this brochure today!

National Sleep Awareness Week

This year Narcolepsy Network reached out to its members to help raise awareness for National Sleep Awareness Week (March 5-11, 2012) and Suddenly Sleepy Saturday (March 10).  The response was overwhelming—members worldwide are already planning projects in their communities, including a walk in Chicago with vice president Sarah DiDavide, a presentation at the Tucson Festival of books, a party and presentation for children in a hospital in Georgia, the Sleep Walk in Washington DC.

We would love to have more of you join this effort. We will help plan your local activity according to your needs and ability. You could, for example: organize a walk, host a Suddenly Sleepy Saturday Information session, write an article for your local newspaper, talk to students and/or teachers at your local high school, have an information booth at your farmer’s market, and more.

Please contact us for help with an activity:  sdidavide@narcolepsynetwork.org

Suddenly Sleep Saturday

Suddenly Sleepy Saturday – Narcolepsy Awareness Day will be recognized for the third consecutive year on the Saturday of National Sleep Awareness Week®. This year’s date is Saturday, March 10.

We encourage every person with narcolepsy to spread Narcolepsy Awareness to at least one person on Suddenly Sleepy Saturday. We highly recommend targeting individuals who work with adolescents and/or young adults. Don’t underestimate the power of one. When you educate one person you are potentially educating everyone they know.

In person, by telephone, email or blogging … whatever is most comfortable for you … help get the word out so today’s young people won’t spend years struggling without a diagnosis!

Feel free to download and attach, or print and distribute, any or all of Narcolepsy Network’s brochures:

Narcolepsy_Q&A_Brochure_English (PDF – English)
Narcolepsia Preguntas Y Respuesta (PDF – Spanish)
Narcolepsy in the Classroom (PDF – English)

Note: All brochures are formatted to print on legal (8.5″ x 14″) paper.

The Dream Quilt

Sleep activist and NN member Michelle Hemingway combined her creative and artistic talents with a desire to increase sleep awareness by developing a project called The Dream Quilt. Members of the sleep community – professionals and patients alike – designed and donated the squares that make up each quilt. Seven unique quilts were created from 2003 thorugh 2009. These Dream Quilts travel around the country to be displayed in Sleep Centers, at professional conferences, libraries and other locations where they can raise awareness. Contact us if you’d like to arrange for the display of one of these quilts in your community.

View the 2003 Dream Quilt