Designed for Better Sleep,
Better Life
☼ Celina Hwang
SleepWell Lab
From Vision to Action:
A Journey in Adolescent Sleep Health
What began as a virtual Sleep Wellness Center evolved into an evidence-based public-health initiative addressing adolescent sleep deprivation. This website traces the journey from identifying a community need to developing real-world solutions with field professionals.
Through research, design, and professional interviews, the work advanced to original surveys and research papers and created a school-based CBT-I program now being implemented in colleges and high schools as an official health intervention.
SleepWell Project Evolution
CBT-I Project
As part of VISION GHLC’s pitch competition, I designed a public health initiative where high schools adopt Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) as a school-wide effort. I proposed a pilot-year timeline and interviewed CBT-I providers, public health professionals, and school administrators to strengthen the proposal and explore implementation.
Now, the project is being implemented in colleges and high schools in partnership with the Boston Public Health Commission and Dr. Kelley of Merrimack College
Presentation
I have presented on topics within the broader theme of sleep health.
At the Global Health Leaders Conference (GHLC) at Johns Hopkins, I spoke as a student speaker on how adolescent sleep is addressed in global health, studying sleep-health policies worldwide and calling for reform in sleep research and policy.
As part of the Bioengineering & Nanomedicine Program (BENMD), I conducted independent research on stimulants—substances often used in treating sleep disorders—analyzing their risks and side effects and proposing alternative compounds to replace traditional stimulants.
Research & Analysis
To better understand adolescent sleep health in my community, I surveyed high school students’ sleep habits and sleep-influenced behaviors, receiving responses from over 150 students across 21 high schools in Greater Boston.
Using this dataset, I analyzed drivers of sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality. I authored an academic paper on how caffeine affects subjective sleep satisfaction and am developing a second paper on how weekend sleep duration relates to restfulness upon waking.
Sleep Wellness Center
As part of a school passion project, I designed a Sleep Wellness Center where students can learn about sleep, take rest, and improve sleep health. Through research, I identified key needs specific to adolescents and designed each room around those findings. I created and presented a virtual model of the center to teachers and students at school.
About the Founder: Celina Hwang
Celina Hwang is a senior at Austin Preparatory School in Reading, Massachusetts. She is passionate about integrating neuroscience and public policy to advance public health, with a focus on improving mental health outcomes. As the founder of Project SleepWell, she aims to raise awareness about sleep health and lead a collective effort to address adolescent sleep wellness.
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