Sleep hygiene is defined as a set of behavioral and environmental recommendations intended to promote healthy sleep (Irish et al., 2015). As a shift worker, my sleep pattern can have a negative impact on my overall health (Jehan et al., 2017). Unknown to myself prior to this blog post, the government of Canada has statistics on if Canadians are getting enough sleep, as well as indicators to evaluate the factors that influence our sleep quality. The statistics for all Canadians are quite alarming with 1 in 2 adults who have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, 1 in 5 Canadians do not find their sleep restful enough and 1 in 3 adults have difficulty staying awake during the day (Government of Canada, 2019). Numerous factors lead to poor sleep quality such chronic stress, increase in sedentary time, mental health issues or substance misuse disorders (Government of Canada,2019). The Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior and Sleep (PASS) Indicator is a surveillance framework from the Canadian Government to explore our physical activity, sedentary and sleep behaviors, and what influences them. Sleep problems are a growing concern for global public health as it has been linked to increase the probability of other chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease or cancer (Irish et al., 2015). Many frameworks exist that propose simple solutions to improve sleep quality. Limiting the use of caffeine, nicotine and alcohol have all had direct impact on better sleep hygiene while increasing exercise can have a positive impact of sleep quality.
Now, my question to my colleagues is what do you think of your own sleep hygiene? For those of you who are shift workers, do you have good strategies in place to help promote better sleep hygiene?
References
Government of Canada, Are we Getting Enough Sleep? (2019). Retrieved on November 1,2023 from : Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep? Infographic - Canada.ca
Irish, L., Kline, C. E., Gunn, H. E., Buysse, D. J., & Hall, M. (2015). The role of sleep hygiene in promoting public health: A review of empirical evidence. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 22, 23–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smrv.2014.10.001
Jehan, S., Zizi, F., Pandi-Perumal, Ak, M., Auguste, E., Jean–Louis, G., & Si, M. (2017). Shift work and sleep: medical implications and management. Sleep Medicine and Disorders: International Journal, 1(2). https://doi.org/10.15406/smdij.2017.01.00008
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