Sleep
Why sleep matters
Sleep is one of the most important things your body needs to stay healthy. It gives your brain and body time to reset, so you feel rested and clear-headed in the morning. When you don’t get enough sleep, it can become harder to focus, remember things, or think through problems. Over time, a lack of sleep can affect your health and how well your body fights off illness. It impacts:
Learning and Memory
Learning and Memory
Getting enough sleep helps you stay focused and alert during the day. It also gives your brain time to sort through and store new information, which is important for remembering what you’ve learned in school or at work.
Handling Emotions
Handling Emotions
Sleep plays a big role in how you deal with stress and emotions. People who sleep well are often better able to manage their feelings and stay calm during tough situations.
Making Good Choices
Making Good Choices
When you’re rested, it’s easier to think clearly and make safe, smart decisions. Sleep helps the brain spot danger, weigh risks, and carry out everyday tasks that need good judgment.
Solving Problems
Solving Problems
Ever hear the advice to “sleep on it”? Studies show that getting a good night’s sleep can actually help you solve tricky problems, as your brain continues working on them while you rest.
Saving Energy
Saving Energy
While you sleep, your body slows down and uses less energy. This helps you recharge and get ready for the next day.
Growth and Repair
Growth and Repair
Sleep gives your body time to heal and grow. A special hormone is released during sleep that helps your tissues repair themselves and grow stronger.
Fighting Illness
Fighting Illness
Your immune system works better when you’re well-rested. Sleep helps your body fight off infections, like colds or the flu, and may lower your risk of getting sick in the first place. (Sleep Foundation, 2024)
How much sleep do I need
Babies and Toddlers 0-6 years old
Require 12 to 17 hours of sleep, which should occur during both the day and night.
Children 6-12 years old
While sleep needs start to vary by child, they should be getting 9 to 11 hours of sleep. In general, children should no longer require naps during the day.
Teens 12-18 years old
Typically require 8 to 10 hours of sleep, with sleep patterns naturally shifting later.
Adults 19-65 years old
Typically, the longest stage of life, adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep.
Seniors 65+ years old
Require 7 to 8 hours of sleep, with sleep patterns naturally shifting earlier. There may also be a need for daytime naps due to a reduced quality of sleep during the night.
Sleep across the lifespan
Sleep needs — and the things that disrupt them — change at every stage of life. Select a life stage below to see how much sleep is recommended, what commonly gets in the way, what the research shows in Canada, and what helps.
Sleep phases
Awake
- Time in bed before & after falling asleep. It usually takes 10-20 minutes to fall asleep.
Light Sleep
- Makes up around 55% of our sleep cycle.
- Muscles start to relax, breathing and heart rate slow. We can be easily awoken from light sleep.
Deep Sleep
- Makes up around 20% of our sleep cycle.
- Also known as “Restorative Sleep”, this stage boosts our immune system, repairs muscles & tissues, and flushes toxins.
REM Sleep
- Makes up around 25% of our sleep cycle.
- Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep happens during the latter half of the night. At this stage, our brain is recharged.
The impact of poor sleep
We have all “pushed through” periods where we are not getting the appropriate amount of sleep. But what are the consequences of this, especially when the disruption to sleep persists over an extended period of time?
Just as getting enough quality sleep provides multiple physical, mental and emotional benefits, a lack of sufficient quality sleep immediately reduces physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Individually, each of these may seem like minor inconveniences we have all had to endure from time to time, but they do have wide-reaching implications.
For example, fatigue and daytime sleepiness can contribute to an increased risk of accidents, as demonstrated by the spike in fatal car accidents each year with the switch to daylight savings time. Daylight savings time results in many people feeling drowsy due to a small loss of sleep or disruption to sleep routine.
Daylight Saving Time and Sleep
Twice a year, the clocks change in Canada, and for many people, this does more than just shift the schedule by an hour. The time change creates a mismatch between the body’s internal clock, daily routines, and the natural cycle of light and darkness, which regulates key functions like hormone secretion, metabolism, body temperature, and heart rate.
Research has linked the transition to increases in heart attacks, strokes, digestive issues, and declines in mental health, including anxiety and depression. Some studies also report a rise of up to 30% in workplace and road accidents in the days that follow.
According to the Canadian Sleep Society and other international organizations, permanent standard time is considered the healthier option. Daylight Saving Time contributes to circadian misalignment, sleep loss in spring, and later bedtimes in summer, a pattern often referred to as “social jet lag.” In fall and winter, Canada’s northern latitude already limits morning light exposure; permanent DST would further delay sunrise, in some cities until after 8 or even 9 a.m., meaning children and workers would begin their day in complete darkness.
Most people adjust within a few days, but maintaining consistent sleep, eating, and exercise routines around the time change can help reduce the impact.
Beyond the individual: social and economic impacts.
There are also emotional implications. Research has shown that both a significant short-term lack of sleep (such as staying up all night) and a more general long-term lack of quality sleep result in reduced empathy, which is the ability to understand another person’s emotions. This is an important social skill, which impacts relationships with family, friends and colleagues, as well as for jobs where empathy is crucial, such as first responders and health care professionals.
(Benefits Canada, 2017).
Beyond the above personal consequences, there are wider implications of failing to ensure adequate quality sleep. The mental, emotional and physical consequences can affect immediate and extended family, friends and colleagues. A person with sleep problems may also impact those around them with their fatigue, irritability and inability to concentrate. All of this impacts family units, potentially causing additional stress. Many affected by sleep problems also report a negative impact on their careers. A survey of insomnia sufferers reported that 73% did not feel productive at work, while 25% felt it held them back in their careers.
There is also an economic impact on employers, due to increased absenteeism, presenteeism (working while not being fully concentrating on tasks, with reduced productivity), and higher risk of workplace accidents. In addition, there is also an increased burden on health-care services.
Lack of sleep carries a substantial economic burden in Canada, with the individual cost estimated at around $5,010 per person per year, most of which stems from reduced productivity and missed work. At a population level, poor sleep accounted for approximately $1.9 billion in direct and indirect costs in 2021, highlighting the significant financial impact on the healthcare system and workforce. (Chaput et al., 2023)
