Ottawa – Sleep is a crucial part of overall health, playing an important role in physical and mental health. Not getting enough sleep can contribute to health issues, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, infection or sepsis, cancer, poor mental health, and premature death. While half of all adults in Canada have trouble sleeping, research shows that racial discrimination can make sleep disorders worse among certain groups, including Indigenous Peoples and racialized communities.
Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced an investment of $1.1M in research to promote sleep health. This announcement builds on a $3.8M investment the Government of Canada and partners made in 2022 to support two interdisciplinary research teams that are studying sleep and sleep disorders as part of a Sleep Research Consortium. This additional funding will support a third team that is joining the consortium.
Led by Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen at the University of British Columbia, this team will prioritize equity as it relates to insomnia, sleep health, and public health interventions. Dr. Tomfohr-Madsen’s team will study how people’s identities, location, and access to services affect their quality of sleep, and what factors protect and improve sleep. The team will collaborate closely with people who have experienced sleep inequities, including Indigenous communities, to answer important questions about sleep. The Government of Canada is supporting this research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in partnership with Eisai Limited and Mitacs.
“We know that proper sleep is essential to good health, yet the conditions for safe, quality, and restful sleep simply aren’t accessible to everyone. Dr. Tomfohr-Madsen’s research team will help us to deliver sleep-health resources where they are most urgently needed, including among Indigenous communities to improve better health outcomes for all.” – Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health