The Royal Bank of Canada will share its focus on sleep hygiene and the impact on mental health at the 2017 Benefits and Pension Summit in Toronto on April 11-12.
“[Sleep] was something that came up consistently in our health risk assessment,” says Andrejka Massicotte, the bank’s director of Canadian benefits and wellness, who will speak at the event. “It’s one of the top risk factors that impacts our employees.”
When the bank highlighted the importance of sleep in its 2015 wellness program, it included an online game that helped employees learn how to create the ideal sleep environment. They had to categorize common home items like thermostats and cell phones into boxes depending on how helpful they are in getting a good night’s sleep.
“And then they got feedback on each item and it was a learning moment there,” says Massicotte, who notes the second part of the program showed employees mindfulness techniques that can improve mental health.
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It’s too early to know if the program has affected employee productivity on a long-term basis, adds Massicotte, but the bank intends to monitor its health risk assessments each year to see if sleep habits improve.
Josée Dixon, senior vice-president of group and business insurance at Desjardins Insurance, will also speak during the session. “Sleep is one of the body’s vital needs — very much like eating three times a day,” she says. “Sleep deprivation has a significant impact on employees’ health, both physical and mental.”
The most common sleeping disorders are trouble sleeping (lack of sleep, difficulty falling asleep or waking up many times each night), insomnia (persistent trouble sleeping despite comfortable conditions) and sleep-related breathing disorders such as sleep apnea.
Problems resulting from poor sleep include hypertension, diabetes, depression and decreased cognitive function, such as reduced attention span and reaction. To help address these issues, employers should promote good sleeping habits among their workforces, Dixon says.
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Massicotte and Dixon will be speaking at the Benefits and Pensions Summit on Wednesday, April 12, 2017, at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel. Check out the other group benefits and pension sessions on the agenda and register for the conference by the upcoming early-bird deadline.