Canada is a sleep-deprived nation: researcher

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HALIFAX (NEWS 1130) – A little weary after the May long weekend? You’re not alone!

The Canadian Sleep Review 2016 has found 53 per cent of Canadians agree — we are a sleep-deprived nation.

The review also found 70 per cent feel they are falling short on sleep and wish they could get better quality sleep most nights.

“At least they’re aware; that’s step one. Now step two is doing something about it. And I think we need to talk about that — what can they do?” says Dr. Rachel Morehouse, a psychiatrist at Dalhousie University.

She tells us even though we’re aware, we often let sleep fall down the priority list.

“It’s an issue of priority. There are so many other things that you put ahead of sleep — things that are fun, that you like to be able to do. You just don’t seemingly have enough time to do,” says Morehouse, who is also the medical director of the Atlantic Sleep Centre in Saint John.

“We’re potentially able to be contacted, available and potentially able to work anytime in that 24-hour day — which is ridiculous because we’re not built for that.”

The right amount of sleep differs from person to person, while almost half of us (45%) have used some kind of sleep aid like pills or specialty pillows.

“And I think that’s what people have trouble with. They have trouble giving up on over-working,” says Morehouse, adding that can affect us over time.

“We’re nocturnal creatures. We’re not built for working long hours.”

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