A wake-up call for sleep policies with Dr. Julie Carrier

A wake-up call for sleep policies with Dr. Julie Carrier

One out of every three people in Canada is not getting sufficient sleep. Many willingly trade their zzz's with all-nighters, Netflix binges, endless scrolling through social media, and to conform with the prevailing sleeplessness trend in modern culture. But sleep is not a luxury, for those dealing with sleep disorders, socioeconomic sleep disparity, or individuals with irregular working hours, such as pilots and healthcare workers.

Compromising sleep to be productive is counterproductive. It compromises many cognitive functions and risks road and industrial accidents, medical errors and multiple disorders resulting in significant financial burdens on governments annually.

Sleep research can play a crucial role in informing various policies, addressing issues like inadequate training for healthcare professionals to identify sleep disorders early, regulating shiftwork hours, and daylight savings, and tackling sleep health disparities.

Despite having ample evidence, the translation of sleep research to society is on snooze.

Listen from Dr. Julie Carrier, professor in the Department of Psychology at Université de Montréal, provides insights into the needs, barriers, and solutions for bridging the gap between sleep and circadian rhythm research with society. She explains the federal efforts of the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network and provincial efforts in Quebec of Réseau Sommeil in developing strategies for integrating sleep and circadian rhythms into public health and policies.

Highlights of the meeting organized by the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network, can be found here: National strategy on the integration of sleep and circadian rhythms into public health research and policies: Report from the Canadian Sleep and Circadian Network.

Find out more information about the Réseau Sommeil at reseausommeil.ca

Upcoming SPE event:

  • What: With the support of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, join Science & Policy Exchange at a public forum event on policies and emerging technologies shaping the future of Canada's carbon emissions.
  • When and where: February 7th 2024 at 5:30 PM ET over Zoom.
  • Link to register

Past SPE event

  • What: With the support of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO: EDI in Action: Inspiring BIPOC across the Canadian science policy landscape. The discussion centered on the challenges BIPOC may face and how EDI is being promoted in the field.
  • Where: Link to YouTube recording.

- Interview by Madhura Lotlikar
- Script writing by Madhura Lotlikar, with input by Maïa Dakessian, Gloria Lau, and Antoine Zboralski
- Audio edition by Madhura Lotlikar with input by Gloria Lau, Maïa Dakessian, and Jonathan Caballero
- Podcast production by Jonathan Caballero