Unplug to Recharge High School Video Contest

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 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 7 out of 10 high school students (77.3%) do not get enough sleep on school nights. This percentage has increased significantly since 2009. Social and cultural factors, as well as the advent of technology, all have collided with the biology of adolescents to prevent teens from getting enough sleep. Technology usage at night, including screen-based media, late-night binge watching, and social media use, along with other factors such as early school start times, prevent teens from getting the sufficient sleep they need. Chronic sleep loss also can influence teens’ decision-making, putting personal and public safety at risk.

Contest Rules

Entry Period

The 2026 AASM Sleep for Success High School Video Contest entry period opens Monday, January 26, 2026, and closes on Wednesday, March 11, at 12 p.m. EDT.

Prizes

Each winner will receive $1,000; the teacher associated with the entry will win a $100 gift card.

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). Please note that the system does not allow group submission. You may work alone, with a partner or in a group, but you may submit only one entry. When multiple students collaborate on the submission, one student must submit the work (the “Entrant”). If the entry should be selected as a winner, recognition is given to the Entrant and teacher associated with the entry.

Submission Disclaimer

By submitting your work, you are acknowledging the following:

• The submission is your own creation, and it has not been borrowed from any other person’s work (including film, video, and online content).
• While assistance from artificial intelligence (AI) tools or software is permitted, the characters and situations are of your own invention.
• Submissions should have teens as their main characters and be about the teen experience.

Submission Instructions

After posting your video on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok with the hashtag #SleepforSuccess2026, you must submit to the AASM a public link to the video along with a completed entry form. Completed forms can be emailed to Sarah Hashmi at shashmi@aasm.org.

If submitting via Instagram or TikTok, submissions must tag the AASM account (@aasm_sleeped). All contest winners will also be asked for an MP4 file of their video.

Video length: 30-90 seconds

Submission Categories

A winner will be selected in each of the following categories and should focus on one of these areas:

1. Short Film/Original Story

A live-action fictional short film about healthy sleep showcasing creativity, character development and an original plot

2. Musical or Parody (Pop Culture)

A healthy sleep-focused, fun song or interpretation of a famous movie, show or viral moment

3. Animation or Anime

Original animated story or message highlighting healthy sleep

Judging Criteria

Contest judges will review all submissions to verify contest rules are met. Each video will be scored, and the winner of each of the three categories will be chosen, using the following criteria:

Scientific context and accuracy

The submission seeks to understand the science behind a good night’s sleep and connects content to existing scientific knowledge. You are required to cite your sources on your video submission form.

Relevance

The submission has a clear articulation of why adequate sleep matters and how it has an impact on teens’ lives, their communities, or the world.

Engagement

The submission thoughtfully presents information and grabs the audience’s attention. There is a personal connection to the chosen topic.

Creativity

The submission approaches the topic in a creative or innovative way and provides a unique perspective. Creativity of both content and its presentation will be heavily weighted in the video judging.

Terms and Conditions

• 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. If your video is removed from the host platform for violation of its terms of service, you will be disqualified from the contest.
  • YouTube Terms of Service
  • Instagram Terms of Service
  • TikTok Terms of Service
• 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., YouTube, Instagram or TikTok).
• 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.