Sleep Well. Do Well. Star Sleeper
“Sleep Well. Do Well.”
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute campaign telling children aged 7-11 they need at least 9 hours of sleep, fronted by the cartoon cat Garfield. A paediatrician criticised using a famously lazy, overweight cat; the campaign director defended him as a way to get noticed.
- Years
- 2003–now
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- Sleep
- Asks people to
- Start
- Strategy
- MascotSimple instruction
- Channel
- PrintSchoolWebsite
- Audience
- ParentsYouthChildren aged 7-11
Evidence
NoneUnknown
No outcome evaluation found; the campaign director reported that children enjoyed the activities and got the 9-hour message.
Sponsor (who paid)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Center on Sleep Disorders Research Federal government, lead
Credits (who made it)
Not recorded yet.
Related campaigns
- Sleep Awareness Week 1998–now
Sources
- The Cartoon Character Garfield and the “Sleep Well. Do Well. Star Sleeper” Campaign reference · 2006 · DOI 10.1542/peds.2006-1433 · PMID 16951023
Research notes
Start year from memory (about 2003); confirm. The critique (Fox, Pediatrics 2006) is worth adding as a source. Found through OpenAlex (October 2026 sleep pass, see docs/sleep-campaigns-openalex.md). Findings paraphrased from abstracts; check the paper before quoting a number. Reuse terms checked 2026-10-23 by an AI research pass for #47; not yet reviewed by a person.
Record cases/nhlbi-star-sleeper.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign