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J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Clarke, Regional Vice President, Distribution, Quebec & Atlantic, Group Solutions discusses the importance of sleep, the group benefits that can help plan members improve the quality of their rest, and why he thinks his boss, Christine Wyatt, may be a mutant<\/span><\/p>\n In these super tense times, taking care of our health is a great way to build resilience and maintain perspective. Diet, exercise, relaxation and sleep are called the Four Pillars of Health. I was surprised to read that some scientists say sleep has the greatest impact on our health. That\u2019s not to say we can skip the veggies or hang up our trainers. But it may mean some of us need to pay more attention to sleep hygiene. I know I do, especially with business travel.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n Back in Montreal after a two-day team conference in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I am reminded of how much I enjoy working from home\u2014but working together face-to-face, getting to know people over lunch and dinner, and hanging out in the evening feeds my soul. In short spurts. I find long days and late nights\u2014especially when I spend most of my time sitting down\u2014make it harder to get a good night\u2019s sleep. This is not great, since I feel more mentally sharp and focused when I get a solid seven or eight hours of shut-eye.<\/span><\/p>\n Not so for my boss. Each morning, after staying up through the wee hours, she arrived at the breakfast table looking bright and refreshed. Her scant need for sleep has been the subject of marvelment for many years. It\u2019s possible my <\/span>boss<\/span> is a mutant: about one per cent of the world\u2019s population have gene mutations that cause them to remain awake longer and experience shorter sleep cycles. People with this rare condition\u2014called Short Sleep Syndrome\u2014 genuinely need less sleep than most. They wake refreshed and don\u2019t feel tired during the day.1<\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n For the rest of us, too little sleep can have serious health consequences. <\/span><\/p>\n Health consequences of too little sleep Prolonged lack of sleep can lower our immune system\u2019s ability to fight off disease. It can cause serious health conditions, including high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease, and may also be a root cause of obesity. This is cause for concern when we consider that almost a quarter of the working-age population is not getting the recommended amount of sleep, and about 40% are suffering from poor quality sleep.2<\/sup><\/span> How much sleep do you need?\u00a0 As a dad, I make sure my two children get the sleep they need, and I\u2019m alarmed by research such as a study by the University of Maryland4<\/sup><\/span> that found that a lack of sleep affects brain structure. According to the study lead, Dr Ze Wang, \u201cChildren who had insufficient sleep\u2014less than nine hours per night\u2014at the beginning of the study had less grey matter or smaller volume in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory, and inhibition control, compared to those with healthy sleep habits.\u201d Wang says these differences persisted after two years, which speaks to the potential long-term harm that sleep deprivation may have.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Five ways group benefits can help\u00a0 Reliable, doctor-approved information Professional help coping with stress, anxiety and many of the challenges of daily life that can make it hard to sleep According to Empire Life data for 2024, the top five reasons plan members called AssistNow<\/em> EAP were to improve their mental health or get help with anxiety, marriage or relationship issues, depression, or grief.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A large-scale research study on EAP shows that EAPs reduce presenteeism and improve employee function. This study also found that participants reported improvements in problem resolution and productivity, resulting in an estimated return on investment to be between $5.17 and $6.47 for every dollar spent on EAP.5<\/sup><\/p>\n Extended health benefits:<\/p>\n Help navigating the healthcare system and getting the right diagnosis<\/strong><\/p>\n Medical supplies to treat sleep conditions Prescription drugs Let\u2019s recommit to healthy sleep habits\u00a0<\/span> 1 <\/sup>University of California San Francisco. 2019. After 10-Year Search, Scientists Find Second \u2018Short Sleep\u2019 Gene<\/span>\u00a0
<\/strong><\/span>According to experts, just one night of poor sleep can slow down our response time, reduce our ability to stay focused and pay attention, and impair our logical reasoning ability. It can also affect our mood, judgement, and emotional control. <\/span><\/p>\n
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<\/span><\/strong>The amount of sleep we need varies by age<\/span>.3<\/sup> Babies, children and teens need the most.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Sleep](\"https:\/\/blog.empirelife.ca\/hs-fs\/hubfs\/Sleep%20blog%20(4).jpg?width=1024&height=520&name=Sleep%20blog%20(4).jpg\")
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<\/span><\/strong>The path to restorative rest doesn\u2019t have to be a lonely one. Empire Life plan members can get solid support from the following benefits.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n
<\/strong>Plan members can request information on a variety of sleep-related topics from Teladoc Health. Teladoc can also provide contact details for sleep specialists in their area. This benefit is automatically included in all our group insurance plans with extended health benefits.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/span>AssistNow<\/em> Employee Assistance Program (EAP) offers: (optional benefit)<\/p>\n\n
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<\/span><\/strong>Extended health benefits offer coverage for oral devices, CPAP machines and masks to help people with sleep apnea.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/strong>Non-drug therapies, including cognitive behavioural therapy, are often the first type of treatment for many sleep disorders. With that said, there are more than 90 sleep disorders,6<\/sup> and an even larger number of diseases that can disrupt sleep. There is an ever-expanding range of drug treatments to treat these disorders, <\/span> and most of these treatments are covered by group insurance drug benefits.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/strong><\/span>I encourage plan sponsors to help educate their employees about the health benefits of healthy sleep habits and to take full advantage of the group insurance benefits that can help promote healthy sleep. Good sleep isn’t a luxury\u2014it’s a necessity.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/span>2<\/sup> Statistics Canada. 2022. <\/span>Sleep behaviours among Canadian adults: Findings from the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey healthy living rapid response module
<\/span><\/span>3 <\/sup>Centre for Disease Control
<\/span>4 <\/sup>National Institutes of Health. 2022. <\/span>Children\u2019s sleep linked to brain development
<\/span><\/span>5 <\/sup>Beulah Joseph, Arlene Walker and Matthew Fuller-Tyszkiewicz. Evaluating the effectiveness of employee assistance programmes: a systematic review. European Journal Of Work And Organizational Psychology, 2018
<\/span>6 <\/sup>J F Pagel<\/a>, <\/span>Bennett L Parnes<\/a>. Medications for the Treatment of Sleep Disorders: An Overview. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2001<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n