Healthy Children need Healthy Sleep

OVERVIEW

Healthy Children Need Healthy Sleep forms part of Canada’s Sleep Calendar, a coordinated programme of national public education presented by The Sleep Society to improve sleep health awareness across Canada.

Healthy sleep is essential throughout childhood and adolescence. As children grow, their sleep needs and patterns change, supporting physical growth, brain development, learning, memory, behaviour, emotional wellbeing and immune function. Adequate sleep also plays an important role in attention, concentration, academic performance and healthy social development.

Sleep problems during childhood can sometimes be overlooked or mistaken for behavioural, emotional or learning difficulties. By increasing awareness among families, educators and healthcare professionals, this initiative encourages healthy sleep habits, early recognition of sleep problems and appropriate assessment when concerns arise—helping children achieve their full potential during childhood and throughout adult life.

WHY IT MATTERS

Sleep is particularly important during periods of rapid physical and neurological development. Insufficient or disrupted sleep can affect attention, memory, learning, behaviour, mood and daytime functioning and may adversely affect physical and mental health.

During adolescence, natural changes in circadian timing tend to favour later sleep and wake times. When this biological shift is combined with early school schedules, academic and social demands, evening activities and electronic device use, many adolescents may obtain insufficient sleep.

Healthy breathing during sleep is also important. Snoring, obstructive sleep apnea and other forms of sleep-disordered breathing can disturb sleep and may affect behaviour, learning, cardiovascular and metabolic health, growth and quality of life. Persistent snoring or breathing difficulties during sleep should not simply be regarded as normal childhood behaviour.

BACKGROUND

Healthy Children Need Healthy Sleep is observed throughout August as part of Canada’s Sleep Calendar. The initiative promotes greater understanding of the importance of healthy sleep from infancy through adolescence and encourages sleep to be recognised as a fundamental component of children’s health, development, education and wellbeing.

Children are not simply smaller adults. Their sleep requirements, sleep patterns and the disorders affecting their sleep change as they develop. Younger children generally require considerably more sleep than adults, while adolescence brings biological changes that can make falling asleep early increasingly difficult.

Family routines, school schedules, technology, physical activity, health conditions and the sleep environment can all influence children’s sleep. Greater awareness can help parents, caregivers, educators and healthcare professionals recognise sleep problems earlier and establish healthy sleep as an important part of childhood development.

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CURRENT ACTIVITIES

The Sleep Society and SleepSafeCanada are currently working to:

Promote public awareness of the importance of healthy sleep throughout childhood and adolescence.
Increase understanding of age-related changes in children’s sleep needs, sleep patterns and circadian rhythms.
Increase awareness of childhood sleep problems, including insomnia, insufficient sleep, snoring and sleep-disordered breathing.
Encourage healthy sleep habits and greater recognition of the relationship between sleep, learning, behaviour, development and wellbeing.
Develop educational resources for children, parents, caregivers, educators, healthcare professionals and community organisations.
Support annual awareness activities throughout August as part of Canada’s Sleep Calendar.
Encourage collaboration with healthcare organisations, schools, educational institutions, governments, parent organisations and community groups.
Build partnerships and national support to improve children’s sleep health across Canada.

ENDORSEMENTS

We welcome the endorsement of governments, healthcare organisations, schools, universities, professional associations, parent organisations and community groups that support the aims of this initiative and greater recognition of healthy sleep as an essential component of childhood health and development.

PARTNERS

We collaborate with organisations that actively support the development, delivery and promotion of this initiative through education, research, collaboration and public engagement.

SUPPORTERS

We gratefully acknowledge organisations, businesses and individuals who support the aims of this initiative and help raise awareness within families, schools, communities and their wider networks.

Healthy Children need Healthy Sleep

OVERVIEW

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