Tired of being tired? Sleep On It!

A new Canadian public health campaign is launched to promote the importance of getting a good night's rest.

VANCOUVER, Sept. 24, 2019 /CNW Telbec/ - Noting that sleep deprivation costs Canada over $21 billion a year in lost productivity, a bilingual Canadian campaign was launched today to promote the importance of getting a good night's rest to stay alert and healthy.

Spearheaded by the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network (CSCN), the Canadian Sleep Society, Fondation Sommeil and Wake-up Narcolepsy Canada, the Dormez là-dessus / Sleep On It! campaign is aimed at the general public.

Its goal is to demystify sleep, offer solutions for people to deal with sleep disorders and to make healthy sleep a public-health priority. Along with a new website, the campaign was announced at the World Sleep Congress in Vancouver.

"Our goal is to get people to have sleep as a priority in their life" said Julie Carrier, an Université de Montréal psychology professor, researcher at CIUSSS du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montreal and scientific director of the CSCN. "

The national campaign's objective is to spread two key messages:

• Sleep is crucial for physical, emotional and cognitive health. To stay healthy, it is as important to sleep well as to eat well and be physically active.
• There are solutions for many sleep disorders, including insomnia, sleep apnea, sleepwalking, narcolepsy, restless leg syndrome, and shift-work sleep disorder.

The second objective of the campaign is to create, support and promote development of knowledge and dissemination platforms, which may contribute to a greater awareness around sleep management.

Did you know that sleep deprivation can reduce your reaction speed as much as a blood alcohol level of 0.08g – the legal limit for driving? Or that narcoleptics get drowsy and can fall asleep involuntarily at work, school, or in the street? Or that in as little as half a dozen years, people who only sleep six hours a night gain more weight than those who sleep seven or eight?

Sleep deprivation also has a steep economic cost. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Canada loses $21.4 billion a year in productivity from absenteeism, accidents and injuries caused by sleep deprivation.

"Canada is a leader in sleep research and now, with Dormez là-dessus / Sleep On It!, we're the first country in the world to make its dissemination a public-health priority," said Carrier. "We want to encourage other countries to do the same; that's why we're launching our campaign at the World Sleep Congress. Research into sleep has progressed a lot over the past 15 years and the public, including people who suffer from sleep disorders, has a right to get the best, most valid scientific information, presented in a simple and original way."

www.sleeponitcanada.ca

SOURCE Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de service sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal (CIUSSS NIM)

Julie Carrier : [e-mail]; Catherine Bourguinat : [e-mail]; Media contact: Julie Gazaille, Communications et Public Affairs Office, Université de Montréal, 514-343-6796, [e-mail]; Emilie Jacob, Le bureau des relations médias et des affaires publiques, Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Nord-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, 514-331-3418, [e-mail]