“To sleep – to sleep, perchance to dream”, these words made famous by William Shakespeare, in the play Hamlet are familiar to many of us. But did you know that sleep is just as important as diet and exercise for a healthy lifestyle?
The Canadian Sleep Society with the involvement of sleep researcher Reut Gruber of McGill University is launching the first multi-city awareness campaign to sensitize Canadians to healthier sleeping habits. “We have shown that a small increase in sleep duration benefits a child’s academic performance and mood. A small addition of about 20 to 30 minutes of sleep per night is associated with detectable improvement in children’s behavior and academic performance.” says Prof. Gruber of McGill’s Department of Psychiatry. In previous research, Gruber found that too little sleep leads to poor mood, and behavioural problems in children. “Short sleep duration produces adverse hormonal changes associated with increased risks of obesity, hypertension and diabetes”, adds Gruber who is also a researcher at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.
Gruber, alongside the Canadian sleep Society (CSS) is organizing a 5 km sleepwalk in four Canadian cities: Halifax, Quebec City, Montréal, and Niagara on Saturday on August 20th. Join the Great Canadian Sleepwalk
For more about Prof. Gruber’s research:
It’s all in a good night’s sleep
Contact
Reut Gruber
514-222-1779
August 17, 2016