Program of “Sleep Week”
1. Information stand
Location: Plovdiv central square; The Mall of Plovdiv
Time: 09-13 March
2. Exhibition of photos and children paintings “Sleep through the eyes of the little and the grown child”
Location: Historical centre of Plovdiv
Time: 09-13 March
3. Sleep quiz – Interactive competition for the smartest
Location: Bar „Estrella“
Time: 10 March
4. “Sleep medicine through the perspective of case reports” – lecture held at Medical University – Plovdiv
Time: 11 March
Location: Medical University – Plovdiv
5. „Pajamas party“
Location: „Move” Music club
Time: 13 March
6. Children paintings exhibition „The Sleeping Beauty“
Location: Auditorium complex of Medical University – Plovdiv,
Time: 11-13 March
7. Muppet show “The Sleeping Beauty”
Location: State Muppet Theater – Plovdiv
Time: 14 March- 10:30; 11:45
The project “Sleep week” was held between 09-14 March 2015 to celebrate the World Sleep Day and raise awareness about sleep and its disorders in the society. To achieve that purpose, we have conducted several activities, aimed at different groups of the population. The slogan of the World Sleep Day was translated in Bulgarian and served the same purpose in our campaign.
Two information stands were placed at some of the city key points – Plovdiv central square and The Mall of Plovdiv. Medical students from Plovdiv Medical University were engaged in delivering information to citizens, who showed interest in the activity. Leaflets with the 10 Commandments for a healthy sleep for adults and children and brochures on obstructive sleep apnea were available. People were stimulated to fulfill the STOP-BANG Questionnaire by granting them a chance to participate in a lottery for sleep accessories.
To increase the public interest in the activity, an exhibition of photos and children paintings “Sleep through the eyes of the little and the grown child” in the form of posters, containing information about sleep hygiene, obstructive sleep apnea, narcolepsy and insomnia were placed at the historical centre of Plovdiv. The topics were explained in a simple and widely comprehensible style. Due to the great interest, the duration of the exhibition was prolonged until the end of March.
A quiz-night show “Sleep Quizz”, comprising questions, regarding sleep in every aspect (mythology, literature, science, history, geography, medicine, etc.) was held. All the participants from the seven teams that took participation in the quiz, were challenged by the interesting questions and the attractive quizz-master!
A lecture, explaining the basics of sleep medicine by discussing three interesting cases from our sleep lab, was presented by Dr Kiril Terziyski, MD, PhD before medical students. A free discussion followed. The students expressed great interest in the topic and desire for a structured course in Sleep medicine (since it is not included in the formal medical students curriculum).
Thirty children “painted sleep” and their pictures were exhibited in the Auditorium complex of the Plovdiv Medical University. The bad weather conditions prevented us from displaying them in the central park of Plovdiv, as planned. The little painters, as well as other children, were gifted a free muppet show at the State Muppet Theater – Plovdiv, which they enjoyed with great interest. To celebrate the World Sleep Day, the muppet show was “The Sleeping Beauty”. At the end of the show, each child was presented a small toy at the promise to read the sleep Commandments together with his/her parents.
World sleep night was celebrated at night club “Move”. Medical students organized the party while the somnologists followed the 10 Commandments of healthy sleep.
The initiative reached even greater audience thanks to the live broadcast of the Plovdiv regional channel of the Bulgarian National Television (BNT), showing an interview with Dr Kiril Terziyski in front of the poster exhibition (http://bnt.bg/part-of-show/sedmitsa-na-sa-nya-za-pa-rvi-pa-t-v-plovdiv). Another regional media broadcasted footage from the sleep lab.
A facebook page to promote the initiative was created (https://www.facebook.com/sleepweek?ref=aymt_homepage_panel). Some of the materials were uploaded there.