Sleep Across the Lifespan
For the past decade, Dr. Penny Corkum, her colleagues and trainees, have developed and evaluated a range of digital interventions (in both English and French) to support sleep health and treat insomnia in infants to young adults.
The objectives of the research program will be achieved through the work of a diverse team of researchers, clinicians, knowledge users, trainees, Indigenous Peoples, and people with lived experience of insomnia, in collaboration with the Consortium.
Increase sleep health knowledge and healthy sleep practices of all people living in Canada through a national healthy sleep campaign.
Close the treatment gap for insomnia across the lifespan.
Close the evidence-to-practice gap so evidence-based interventions are being recommended and delivered through the creation of an eLearning PD program for health care providers.
Address the equity gap so that all people in Canada can have access to sleep health information, resources, and interventions that they find acceptable.
Increase the cultural appropriateness of insomnia interventions for Indigenous Peoples.
Mobilize the products created by this research through an online portal.
Ensure sustainability of all products created through this research program.
Build a bright future for sleep research in Canada through collaboration with the Consortium.
The work will be lifespan focused and will be conducted through three developmentally based research hubs:
Research Hub 1: Infants & Young Children – Lead: E. Keys
Research Hub 2: Children, Adolescents, & Young Adults – Leads: P. Corkum & G. Rigney
Research Hub 3: Adults & Older Adults – Lead: S. Garland
Team Leads
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Penny Corkum
NOMINATED PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Elizabeth Keys
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Gabrielle Rigney
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Guido Simonelli
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Paul Ralph
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
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Sheila Garland
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Meet The Team
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Jonathan Amoyaw, PhD, Dalhousie University
Pantelis Andreou, PhD, Dalhousie University
Melanie Barwick, PhD, University of Toronto
Sarah Blunden, PhD, Central Queensland University
Tyler Bonnell, PhD, University of Lethbridge
Cary Brown, PhD, University of Alberta
Célyne Bastien, PhD, Université Laval
Julie Carrier, PhD, Université de Montréal
Christine Cassidy, PhD, Dalhousie University
Judith Davidson, PhD, Queen’s University
Christopher Earle, MD, Memorial University
Stelios Georgiades, PhD, McMaster University
Parisa Ghanouni, PhD, Dalhousie University
Florence Guiliani, PhD, Université Sherbrooke
Heather Hadjistavropoulos, PhD, University of Regina
Debbie Martin, PhD, Dalhousie University
Sandra Meier, PhD, Dalhousie University
Patrick McGrath, PhD, Dalhousie University
Patrick McPhee, PhD, McMaster University
Heather Neville, BScPhm, Nova Scotia Health Authority
Christine Ou, PhD, University of Victoria
Richard Paul, Chief Operation Officer of Membertou, Indigenous Elder Liaison
Marie-Hélène Pennestri, PhD, McGill University
Maria Rogers, PhD, Carleton University
Deborah Scharf, PhD, Lakehead University
Mandeep Singh, MD, University of Toronto
Jennifer Stinson, PhD, University of Toronto
Megan Thomas, PhD, Dalhousie University
Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, PhD, University of British Columbia
Shelly Weiss, MD, University of Toronto
Manisha Witmans, PhD, University of Alberta
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Mya Dockrill, PhD, Dalhousie University
Alzena Ilie, PhD, Dalhousie University
Maddie Gallant, PhD, Dalhousie University
Trent Lynds, BSc, Lakehead University
Mitchell Mathieson, BSc, Dalhousie University
Matt Orr, PhD, Dalhousie University
Jocelyn Paul, PhD, Dalhousie University
Momina Raja, BSc, Dalhousie University
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Jenny Downs, PhD, Telethon Kids Institute
Nava Gelkop, Israeli Association for Child Development and Rehabilitation
Harvey Schott, Aveiro Sleep
Brett Taylor, MD, Dalhousie University
Jennifer Thomas, PhD, San Diego State University
Ramesh Venkat, PhD, Sobey School of Business, Marketing
Olaf Verschuren, PhD, Utrecht University
Vicki Woolf, RRT, Sleep Medix
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Jennifer Borst, IWK Community Pediatrics Division
Mark Boulos, University of Toronto
Jill Chorney, Dalhousie University
Jonah Dupuis, Pharmacist from Northern Ontario
Lucyna Lach, McGill University
Malgorzata Rajda, Dalhousie University
Karen Roberts, Public Health Agency of Canada
Mary Roberts, University of Alberta
Charles Samuel, University of Calgary
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Naomi Chubra
Lynn Cooper
Kim Crowe
Amanda Fitt
Shelley Flam
Daniel Nunes
Connie Putterman
Annette Rivard
Ben Seligman
Jenny Tyler
Research Projects
This program of research will leverage the existing infrastructure to improve access with age-targeted digital programs and resources for insomnia. This will include:
A social media campaign to promote sleep heath
Digital resources about healthy sleep practices including a mobile app
Online insomnia treatments including cognitive and behavioural interventions
Programs for health care providers to learn how to diagnose and treat insomnia
Sleep education programs for teachers to use with their students
All of these resources and interventions will be located in a dynamic Better Nights Better Days virtual portal. Resources will be delivered to the person with insomnia (or their parent), to schools and universities, to work settings, and within hospitals and other care settings. We will also train upcoming researchers to continue to progress in the field of sleep medicine, including the development of insomnia treatments. This project aims to improve knowledge about insomnia and design treatments for Indigenous peoples, and those facing health problems and social and economic disadvantages. Our research will engage users to co-design resources and interventions to enhance acceptability and effectiveness. These programs will be designed for sustainability to ensure accessibility now and in the future. The goal of this research is to give all Canadians, regardless of their age, sex, gender, location, ethnicity, and health status, access to tools and interventions to support them to achieve better nights and better days.