Around our house, we have a new word; cryerd. When you are so tired you want to cry. Or when you are crying and you don’t know why, and the only reason left is because you are tired. It happens to our daughters the most, but even I’ve been told to go to bed by my husband because I’ve inexplicably become a hot mess for no reason other than I have created a sleep debt for myself and my body is paying the penalties for it.
Half of all Canadians (49 per cent) admit that lack of sleep affects their productivity at work. Moreover, 39 per cent of those surveyed admitted friends and family say they tend to be grouchy and irritable when they don’t get enough sleep.
When I made a list of healthy habits I wanted to develop to improve my life this year, getting more sleep was at the top. The very top. I could have put eat right, or exercise, but neither of those are going to happen if I am exhausted.
A national opinion poll conducted on the Angus Reid forum released on May 17th revealed that when it comes to sleep, Canadians overwhelmingly feel they are falling short, with close to 70 per cent agreeing that they wish they could get better quality sleep most nights.
Getting enough sleep is something we all take for granted, and it is the first thing we sacrifice when we need to get things done. We have started to try to make more hours in the day by getting less sleep. You can do it, but it is at the risk of your health and well being in the long run.
An astounding 57 per cent of Canadians agree with the statement that, even though research shows lack of sleep can double the signs of ageing, speed up human ageing and lead to an ageing brain, sleep is the first thing they sacrifice when they don’t have enough time. Almost three quarters of Millennials (71 per cent) agree.
My lack of sleep became obvious to me last week when I was half way through brushing my daughter’s hair and I looked at the brush and realized I was using the pet brush. That was the funny part. The scary part was that at the moment I realized this, I couldn’t remember picking up the brush; or the prior 30 minutes. I was running on auto-pilot because I was up late the night before trying to make more hours in the day.
More than half of all Canadians – 53 per cent – believe Canada is a sleep-
deprived nation, and research is suggesting that their hunch may be correct.
As farmers and promoters of healthy living, Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is committed to exploring and building awareness around health and social issues which impact healthy living for Canadians. Based on the results from the Angus Reid poll, Dairy Farmers of Canada are calling on Canadians to make sleep a priority through the Project Sleep initiative. To help, they brought a panel of leading sleep experts together to address this important public health issue and offer tips for getting a better night’s rest.
You can read more about the Dairy Farmers of Canada initiative at ProjectSleep.ca.
Do you feel that you and/or your family get enough sleep?
Thank you to the Dairy Farmers of Canada for sponsoring this article
to raise awareness around sleep deprivation and it’s side effects.
Sheri publishes, and writes at This Bird’s Day where she shares all of the thoughts in her head without the voices. Sticking mainly with content for Canadians, Sheri shares family stories, product information and anything that fits into her (and her family’s) daily activities.
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I sometimes do. But alot of the times no. Stiffness and pain from arthritis in my hands keeps me up alot!
Hi Amy, I have the same issue now and then with my back. Stiffness from an old accident can keep me up as well. I try to have a plan in place for when/if it happens but there are still some restless nights.