Sleep addressed in health promotion program

Sleep is a habit that contributes to a healthy lifestyle and can impact many facets of life, according to Dr. Reut Gruber, psychologist, full professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine at McGill University, and director of the Attention Behaviour and Sleep Lab at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute in Montreal.

In an interview with Inspirations, Dr. Gruber explained that healthy sleep contributes to the prevention of health problems and to the promotion of wellness in everyone’s life, including children and adolescents. When healthy sleep is integrated into everyday life and becomes a habit, it improves one’s quality of life, and for school-age children this means better school functioning, according to empirical data. Healthy sleep facilitates focus, so students who are well rested are able to learn better.

One of the roles sleep plays across development is supporting the acquisition of new skills or new knowledge. Newly acquired information is consolidated at night and integrated into our long-term memory while we sleep. 

Healthy sleep is also related to the moods and emotions of both children and adolescents. It makes the difference being able to adjust emotionally and being moody, reactive and irritable. Physical health is also impacted by sleep, with poor sleep health being associated with obesity and poor weight regulation. 

What is healthy sleep? What factors can contribute to sleep health? Dr. Gruber explains that healthy sleep is multi-faceted, meaning that it is not only about the amount of sleep, which is the aspect that is so often discussed, but also factors such as the quality, timing and consistency of sleep. In school, students are often taught about healthy eating, while also highlighting the benefits of being physically active. Unfortunately, the teaching of healthy sleep is often overlooked. 

One way this is being addressed is through Dr. Gruber’s sleep health promotion program, which started in partnership with Riverside School Board and in collaboration with a variety of school board professionals, including Gail Sommerville, Sujata Saha Johanne Boursier, Chantale Scroggins, Sylvain Racette and a large number of teachers and educators. Together they created specific teaching content, a teacher’s guide and even rubrics for evaluation. 

Starting at the elementary level, some of the teachers in the program have integrated sleep health promotion into their regular classroom curriculum. The content was adapted to the three cycle levels in elementary schools so that it is appropriate for all ages of students. Some teachers at the high school level have also started teaching practical strategies and concrete elements of healthy sleep based on the materials created by Dr. Gruber’s team. 

This project has been ongoing for over 10 years, including through the COVID-19 pandemic. Data collection highlights students making sustained and manageable habit changes that improve their sleep health. Her team is currently looking to improve the program further. 

The program included students with special needs who were in the inclusive classrooms, however data was not collected specifically based on their needs. This is a future research goal for Dr. Gruber and her partners because sleep can affect the functioning of students with special needs in school which can, in turn, lead to identifying further school accommodations that may help them improve this lifestyle element. She believes it is an avenue that needs to be further explored and researched in order to better accommodate students learning in schools.

Tania Piperni is an autism spectrum disorder consultant at the English Montreal School Board.