Unplug to Recharge High School Video Contest

Teens in the U.S. are invited to enter the 2023 AASM “Unplug to Recharge” High School Video Contest. Entrants will compete for a cash prize and raise awareness about the importance of sleep for teens and effect of technology on teen sleep. High school students can enter the contest by submitting an original video that is 15 to 90 seconds long to help teens understand how technology affects sleep and how teens can change technology usage habits to improve their sleep.

Along with a balanced diet and regular exercise, sleep is one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle. Sleep works for you by improving your health, well-being, and mood. Sleep helps you perform your best at school. When you get good sleep, your memory is sharper, and you think more clearly and creatively. Sleep also energizes you for peak performance in sports, making you faster, stronger, and more accurate. Finally, sleep keeps you safe by helping you to avoid motor vehicle accidents caused by drowsy driving.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens between 13 and 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per night on a regular basis to promote optimal health. However, CDC data show that about 78% of U.S. high school students report sleeping fewer than 8 hours on an average school night. Technology usage at night, including screen-based media, late-night binge watching, and social media use, along with other factors, prevent teens from getting the sufficient sleep they need. As a result, these students are experiencing chronic sleep restriction, which can have a negative impact on their physical and mental health, academic and athletic performance, and mood. Chronic sleep loss also can influence teens’ decision-making, putting personal and public safety at risk.

Entry Period:

The 2023 AASM “Unplug to Recharge” High School Video Contest entry period opens Jan. 16, 2023, and closes Feb. 15, 2023, at 5 p.m. EST.

Eligibility:

The Contest is open to any individual who is 13 years of age or older and is enrolled in a high school in the United States at the time of entry. (U.S. high school students who are home-schooled are also eligible to enter. High school students who attend a Department of Defense school also are eligible for the contest, even if the school is in another country.) No purchase of any sort is necessary, and there is no entry fee. Each submission must be the primary work of one individual (the “Entrant”).

Submission:

After posting your video on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok with the hashtag #UnplugtoRecharge2023, you must submit to the AASM a public link to the video along with a completed entry form. Contest winners also will be asked for an MP4 file of their video.

Selection of Winner(s):

A panel of judges (comprising physicians and teens) will review videos for originality and quality as well as the appropriateness, relevance, and accuracy of the messages.

Prizes:

• 1st Place: $1,000 split evenly between you and your school
• 2nd Place: $500 split evenly between you and your school
• Teen’s Choice: $250 split evenly between you and your school

Note: The Teen’s Choice winner is chosen by a panel of teen peers.

AGREEMENT TO RULES

Each Entrant must comply with all the terms and conditions of the official rules (the “Rules”) contained herein. By participating in the Contest, each Entrant fully and unconditionally agrees to be bound by and accepts the terms and conditions of these Rules and the decisions of the AASM and its Judges (including, without limitation, the selection of finalists and winners, and the awarding of prizes), which are final and binding in all respects.

• You represent and warrant that you meet the requirements and qualifications for this Contest, and that you have read these Rules and are fully familiar with them.
• You represent and warrant that you will be severally liable for any failure to comply with these Rules.
• If you are under 18, you represent that you have your parent or guardian’s permission to enter the Contest.

GUIDELINES

• Runtime: Video submissions must be 15 to 90 seconds long, including any credits.
• Message: The video must help teens understand how technology affects teens’ sleep, or how teens can change their technology usage habits to improve their sleep.
• Style: Submissions can be in any style or genre, including animation, drama, comedy, musical, or documentary.
• Exclusivity: Submissions must be posted online during the dates of the contest and must not be entered in, or associated with, any other contest or campaign. Previously posted submissions from publicized contests will be disqualified.
• Terms of Service: Entrants must comply with the terms of service — including any community guidelines and copyright policies — for the platform that hosts your video:
  • YouTube Terms of Service
  • Instagram Terms of Use
  • TikTok Terms of Service

If your video is removed from the host platform for violation of its terms of service, you will be disqualified from the contest.

• Music: Use of music in the video is optional. To avoid violating copyright law, entrants are strongly encouraged to use either an original song; music available in the chosen platform; or royalty-free licensed music (e.g., music purchased — or downloaded for free —  from a stock music website), etc.
• Permission: Contestants are responsible for securing all necessary rights, licenses, clearances, releases, consents and/or permissions from any other people who appear in the video entry.
• Originality: You represent and warrant that your entry is original and in full compliance with the terms of service of the platform hosting the video (i.e., Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube).
• Ownership: You retain ownership of your video. However, by entering the Contest, you grant to the AASM a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable license to use that video (including to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, display and perform it) in connection with the Contest and AASM’s (and its successors’ and Affiliates’) business, including for the purpose of promoting the Contest.

APPROPRIATENESS

Video Submissions must NOT:

• Promote any product or brand.
• Violate the terms of service of the host platform.
• Identify other individuals by name, without written permission.
• Contain any of the following:  profanity; content depicting or promoting sexual activity; content depicting or promoting illegal activity; content that depicts or promotes violence or harm; or any other offensive, obscene, or inappropriate content, which will be determined by the AASM and the Contest Judges.