About us
Changing how Canadians think about sleep
SleepSafeCanada is a national health and safety initiative dedicated to improving sleep health across Canada, presented by The Sleep Society.
Our mission
SleepSafeCanada recognizes that sleep impairment has a significant impact on individuals, workplaces and society. Whether for personal wellbeing, public safety or workplace performance, better sleep quality, quantity and continuity are fundamental to better health, improved quality of life, and reduced absenteeism, lost productivity, errors, accidents and illness.
Our aim is not simply to raise awareness of sleep disorders, but to change how Canadians think about sleep. Sleep is a biological necessity and a fundamental pillar of health, with an essential role in physical and mental wellbeing, performance and safety. Through public education, professional collaboration, industry partnerships and government engagement, SleepSafeCanada aims to make Canada a world leader in sleep awareness and sleep health.
From SleepSafeBC to SleepSafeCanada
While international in its outlook and operations, The Sleep Society was founded in British Columbia, Canada. It was therefore natural that Canadians should also benefit directly from this growing international network.
What began as SleepSafeBC, a provincial health and safety initiative, soon evolved into SleepSafeCanada as the need for greater public awareness and understanding of sleep health, sleep science and advances in sleep medicine became increasingly apparent. A provincial initiative became a national commitment.
Today, SleepSafeCanada provides a national framework designed to change how Canadians think about sleep. Through public education, awareness and practical initiatives, it promotes a greater understanding of sleep as a biological necessity and its fundamental importance to our health, wellbeing, performance and safety.
Who we are
The Sleep Society
The Sleep Society (TSS) is an international, interdisciplinary sleep health community connecting healthcare professionals, researchers, academics, educators, organizations and industry with a shared interest in improving sleep health.
Its purpose is not to replace the many excellent professional associations already serving individual disciplines. Instead, it provides a broader meeting place where people working in different areas of sleep can connect, communicate and collaborate. No single profession or organization can meet every aspect of sleep healthcare alone.
Sleep does not belong to one profession, one discipline or one country.
A new way of thinking about sleep
For many years, inadequate sleep was regarded largely as an individual problem. Someone who was tired was often expected simply to sleep more, work less or manage their time better. While personal responsibility remains important, advances in sleep science and sleep medicine have shown that the reality is far more complex.
Sleep is influenced by biological, medical, psychological, occupational, environmental and social factors. Sleep disorders, circadian rhythm disruption, shift work, chronic sleep restriction, mental health, medications, lifestyle and many other influences may all contribute to impaired sleep and impaired daytime performance.
Major industrial and transportation disasters have shown the potentially catastrophic consequences of human fatigue. Fatigue was identified as a contributing factor in the Exxon Valdez grounding, while the driver whose vehicle initiated the Great Heck (Selby) rail disaster had fallen asleep at the wheel. Fatigue and demanding work schedules also featured prominently in investigations into the Challenger disaster and Three Mile Island.
While catastrophic events are uncommon, they illustrate a much wider issue. Every day, sleep impairment can contribute to motor vehicle collisions, workplace accidents, medical errors, reduced productivity, impaired learning, poorer decision-making and diminished quality of life. Many of these consequences are potentially preventable through greater awareness, earlier recognition of sleep problems, improved education and access to appropriate assessment and treatment.
A national framework
Sleep affects every stage of life and every community. No single awareness campaign can show the many ways in which sleep influences our health, wellbeing, performance and safety.
For this reason, SleepSafeCanada has developed a coordinated program of twelve national initiatives, one for each month of the year. Together they form Canada’s Sleep Calendar: a year-round program of education, awareness, collaboration and public engagement, all reinforcing the same central message. Sleep is a biological necessity.
International
SleepSafe International
SleepSafe International is being developed from the SleepSafeCanada model to help increase the profile of sleep health and safety internationally, while allowing each country to retain its own identity and autonomy.
Strategic Technology Partner
Web Hosting Canada
The Sleep Society has selected Web Hosting Canada as its Strategic Technology Partner, supporting the continued development, delivery and national growth of SleepSafeCanada.
Acknowledgement
SleepSafeCanada respectfully acknowledges that Indigenous Peoples have lived on the lands now known as Canada since time immemorial. We recognize and respect the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, their histories, cultures and continuing presence across Canada.
As a national initiative, SleepSafeCanada operates across many different traditional and treaty territories. All Canadians share the same biological need for optimal quality, quantity and continuity of sleep. We encourage Canadians to learn more about the Indigenous Peoples and traditional territories of the communities in which they live.
Learn more about the history, cultures and diversity of Indigenous Peoples in Canada