On September 5th, 2015, Project Sleep hosted the second annual Sleep Walk Tampa Bay to raise awareness about sleep health and sleep disorders. This year’s event brought 120 people together for a one-mile sunset walk on St. Pete Beach.
Participants included people with sleep disorders, doctors, sleep laboratory professionals, wellness advocates, and other sleep enthusiasts. Since the event followed the Current Concepts in Sleep conference at the same venue, walkers included both local residents and people from as far as Washington, D.C. and Canada.
In addition to walking, participants enjoyed a celebration with prizes, snacks, and a brief talk on sleep health by Dr. Michelle Zetoony, a local physician specializing in sleep and pulmonology.
“The weather was perfect and the volunteers did an amazing job,” says Nicole Sondermann, who served as the Event Coordinator for this year’s Sleep Walk Tampa Bay. Sondermann works as a pediatric polysomnographic technologist with All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg.
In addition to spreading the message that sleep is important (and cool), the Sleep Walk provides a fun way to unite the sleep community and show people with sleep disorders that they are not alone. “I was overwhelmed seeing the new friendships and bonds that were being created,” says Project Sleep volunteer Jessica Davenport.
Of course, we would like to extend our gratitude to the Sleep Walk Tampa Bay 2015 sponsors: Healthy Company Alliance, Paradise Sleep, and DO Sleep Solutions.
