A Wake-Up Call to End Sleep Poverty
IKEA Canada Launches Sleepless Lamp to Shed Light on Sleep Poverty Among Children
TORONTO, March 13, 2025 /CNW/ - This National Sleep Awareness Month, IKEA Canada is turning the spotlight on an often-overlooked crisis affecting children across the country: sleep poverty. Sleep is not a luxury, it's a necessity. Yet, for too many people, quality sleep remains out of reach. As a global leader in home furnishings, IKEA is dedicated to helping people sleep better—because a good night's rest is the foundation for a healthier, happier life. This commitment led to the launch of the first-of-its-kind global IKEA sleep study. The IKEA Sleep Report 2025 explores how people sleep, what affects their sleep quality, and what can be done to improve it.
A key finding from the study reveals a direct link between financial insecurity and poor sleep quality—showing that those struggling financially experience 15% poorer sleep quality than the average person.¹ With this insight, IKEA dug deeper into the realities of sleep poverty, a hidden crisis where thousands of children and families lack access to a proper bed . In fact, one in three Canadians report feeling tired almost every day¹, highlighting a nationwide sleep crisis.
"A good night's sleep is not a privilege; it's a necessity. What we found really concerning about the research were the number of children that go to sleep each night without a proper bed," says Tanya Bevington, Head of Communications at IKEA Canada. "At IKEA, we believe every child deserves a safe, comfortable place to sleep. That's why we're taking action to ensure as many kids as possible have access to a quality bed."
IKEA Canada has launched Sleepless Lamp to bring attention to this crisis and highlight the hidden struggles of sleep deprivation for nearly 500,000 children in Canada. Limited access to quality sleep environments, such as proper bed and supportive mattresses, has been shown to contribute to disrupted sleep patterns. Inspired by real sleep data, the lamp visually represents fragmented and erratic sleep, underscoring the serious health and developmental challenges these children face, including:
- Children who experience disrupted sleep are 38% more likely to report feelings of sadness²
- 24% of adolescents with poor sleep quality experience lower academic performance
- Chronic sleep deprivation is linked to a higher risk of cognitive impairment, obesity, and mental health issues⁴
- 17.2% of children with insufficient sleep report hyperactivity compared to 11.9% of children who get adequate sleep.
Sleepless Lamp is a powerful visual representation of sleep poverty.⁵ Using real sleep data, the lamp flickers and dims to mirror the disrupted sleep cycles of children experiencing sleep poverty. Research shows that children in sleep poverty experience up to 20 sleep disruptions per hour, 50% more than children with proper beds.⁶ Some experience two fully awake periods per night, lasting up to 46 minutes, and a 75% reduction in sleep efficiency.⁷
IKEA Canada is not only raising awareness; it is taking meaningful action. In partnership with Furniture Bank, IKEA is investing $300,000 over three years to provide tangible solutions, including 1,200 Sleep Well Kits in 2025. Each Sleep Well Kit includes a bed, mattress, pillow, bedding and soft toy. IKEA has also committed to responsibly refurbish and redistribute gently used, good quality mattresses and essential sleep items to families in need, ensuring they meet health and safety standards. Additionally, the company is calling for government support to establish a National Sleep Well Program and introduce a furniture and home essentials tax credit for vulnerable Canadians.
"When a child lacks a proper bed, they're not just missing furniture—they're missing the foundation for success in school, emotional wellbeing, and healthy development," says Dan Kershaw, Executive Director, Furniture Bank. "Working with IKEA Canada, we're turning the lights on this hidden struggle and providing real solutions, one Sleep Well Kit at a time."
Experience Sleepless Lamp at Scarborough Town Centre from March 27-30. This immersive IKEA Canada installation sheds light on the reality of disrupted sleep. Free entry, no reservations—just bring an open heart. Can't attend? Visit IKEA.ca/SleeplessLamp to watch the full 9-hour simulation, learn more, and take action.
Here's how Canadians can support the commitment to end sleep poverty:
- Sign the pledge at IKEA.ca/SleeplessLamp to urge government action
- Donate directly to Furniture Bank to help provide Sleep Well Kits to children in need
For more information, visit IKEA.ca/SleeplessLamp.
ABOUT IKEA CANADA
Founded in 1943 in Sweden, IKEA is a leading home furnishing retailer, offering a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible can afford them. IKEA Canada is part of Ingka Group which operates 400 IKEA stores in 31 markets, including 16 in Canada. Last year, IKEA Canada welcomed 32.6 million visitors to its stores and 162.6 million visitors to IKEA.ca. IKEA Canada operates business through the IKEA vision - to create a better everyday life for the many people and does so through its local community efforts and sustainability initiatives. For more information on IKEA Canada, please visit IKEA.ca.
About Furniture Bank
Established in 1998, Furniture Bank is a registered charity and social enterprise that redistributes furniture to those experiencing furniture poverty. This service provides low-income individuals and families with essential home furnishings, creating conditions of comfort, dignity, and stability.
References:
¹ IKEA Sleep consumer quantitative study – Canada country report Nov 2024
² Furniture Bank 2025 Impact Report
³ Sleep and children: the impact of lack of sleep on daily life – The Douglas Research Centre
⁴ Economic Adversity and Children's Sleep Problems: Multiple Indicators and Moderation of Effects - Mona El-Sheikh 2013 Jarrin et al., 2014
⁵ Carson, V. et al. Associations between sleep duration, sedentary time, physical activity, and health indicators among Canadian children and youth using compositional analyses. Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2016, 41(6 (Suppl. 3)): S294-S302, https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2016-0026
⁶ Dewald et al., 2010; O'Brien, 2009
⁷ Socioeconomic Disadvantage and Sleep in Early Childhood: Real-World Data from a Mobile Health Application - Ariel A. Williamson – 2021
SOURCE IKEA Canada Limited Partnership
Alicia Carroll, Public Relations Leader, IKEA Canada, [email protected]; Jeene Sulaivany, Edelman, [email protected]
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