Government of Canada invests in research to improve sleep for Canadians
Ottawa: In combination with diet and exercise, sleep is an important component of health promotion and wellness. Evidence suggests that up to one-third of Canadians are not getting enough sleep, with thousands of people suffering from insomnia and other sleep disorders.
Today, the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health, announced funding of $3.8 million to support research on sleep health and insomnia. The Government of Canada is supporting this initiative through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) in partnership with Eisai Limited and Mitacs.
Through this investment, a Consortium of two interdisciplinary research teams will identify biological and behavioural measures of sleep and sleep disorders and conduct clinical research into the prevention, detection and management of insomnia and other sleep disorders. The Consortium will also address healthy sleep practices as well as insomnia in the context of health disparities and the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples and other populations, including children, youth and families.
Dr. Charles Morin, Professor of Psychology and Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Sleep Medicine at Université Laval’s Brain Research Centre will lead the Consortium and mental health program. Dr. Penny Corkum at Dalhousie University will lead the sleep across the life cycle program. The Consortium will develop, evaluate, validate, and implement interventions that foster better sleep health and wellness. Through its work, the Consortium will accelerate the mobilization of research evidence to bridge gaps between research discoveries and improved health outcomes.
The Consortium research teams will be supported by a novel Coordination and Knowledge Mobilization Centre (CKMC) that will harmonize several cross-cutting themes as well as create a strong governance structure. The CKMC will enable streamlined mobilization of research results to improve the sleep health and wellness of people living in Canada.