How Much Do Canadians Sleep? Sleep Statistics With Sources (2026)

Last updated October 2026 by the Forward Furniture team

Search for sleep statistics in Canada and you will find numbers that seem to disagree. One source says 1 in 3 adults do not get enough sleep. Another says 3 in 4 do. Both are real. They come from different surveys that asked the question in different ways.

This page pulls the main Canadian numbers into one place. Every figure links to the government or research report it came from, with that report's date. None of it comes from our own sales. We are a furniture store, so near the end we also show what the research means for your bedroom and our mattresses in Canada.

In this guide

• How much sleep do Canadians need?
• How many Canadians get enough sleep?
• Do Canadians sleep well?
• Is insomnia getting more common?
• Which age groups sleep the least?
• What habits get in the way?
• All the numbers in one table
• What you can change in your bedroom
• How to cite this page
• Questions

Chart drawn from Statistics Canada Health Reports (2022 and 2018). Bars are to scale, 600 px = 100%.

How Much Sleep Do Canadians Need?

Canada's sleep targets come from the Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, released in 2020 by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology. The Public Health Agency of Canada uses the same targets.

• Adults 18 to 64: 7 to 9 hours of good quality sleep, with steady bed and wake times.
• Adults 65 and older: 7 to 8 hours a night.
• Children 5 to 13: 9 to 11 hours a night.
• Teens 14 to 17: 8 to 10 hours a night.

Sources: Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults (2020); Public Health Agency of Canada, Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep? (March 14, 2019; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2014 to 2015); Public Health Agency of Canada, Are Canadian children getting enough sleep? (April 12, 2018).

How Many Canadians Get Enough Sleep?

The newest national figures come from the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey, asked from January to March 2020. Statistics Canada published the results in March 2022.

• 77% of adults aged 18 to 64 met the sleep hour guideline.
• 55% of adults 65 and older met it. Part of the gap is oversleeping: more older women slept longer than the guideline.
• Average sleep was 7.9 hours a night for adults 18 to 64 and 8.1 hours for adults 65 and older.
• Adults in the highest income and education groups were more likely to meet the guideline than those in the lowest income homes.
• Adults aged 35 to 49 slept the least, which the authors link to work and family demands.

Source: Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Sleep behaviours among Canadian adults (March 16, 2022; 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey).

Older figures look worse. From 2007 to 2013, adults aged 18 to 64 averaged 7.12 hours and about one third slept less than 7 hours. Adults 65 to 79 averaged 7.24 hours, and about one third of them also fell short (Statistics Canada, 2017).

So did Canadians start sleeping more? Not clearly. The older survey asked people how many hours they slept. The 2020 survey worked it out from the time people said they fell asleep and woke up. Statistics Canada says the two cannot be compared directly. If you quote either number, quote its year and survey with it.

Do Canadians Sleep Well?

Hours are only half the story. Many Canadians who get enough hours still wake up tired. These are the main quality figures:

• 61% of adults 18 to 64 and 71% of adults 65 and older rated their sleep good or excellent in 2020 (Statistics Canada, 2022).
• 1 in 2 adults have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2019).
• 1 in 5 adults do not find their sleep refreshing.
• 1 in 3 adults have trouble staying awake during the day.

Women report more trouble than men. From 2007 to 2013, 55% of women and 43% of men aged 18 to 64 reported trouble going to sleep or staying asleep. Among adults 65 to 79 the split was 59% of women and 40% of men. About 33% of adults 18 to 64 and 30% of seniors had trouble staying awake in the day (Statistics Canada, 2017).

Is Insomnia Getting More Common in Canada?

Yes, based on the last national measure. Statistics Canada counted adults who said they had trouble going to sleep or staying asleep "most of the time" or "all of the time". It calls these nighttime insomnia symptoms. That is not the same as a medical diagnosis of insomnia.

• Adults with symptoms rose from 16.8% in 2007 to 2009 to 23.8% in 2014 to 2015.
• That is a 42% increase in eight years.
• Most people with symptoms said they had them for at least a year.
• Between 52.4% and 58.6% of people with symptoms slept less than recommended, against 20.6% to 25.9% of people without them.
• Symptoms were more common in women, older adults and people with lower social and economic status.

Source: Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Prevalence of insomnia for Canadians aged 6 to 79 (December 19, 2018; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007 to 2015).

Which Age Groups Sleep the Least?

Using the 2014 to 2015 Canadian Health Measures Survey, the Public Health Agency of Canada found that middle age is the short sleep zone:

• 1 in 4 adults aged 18 to 34 do not get enough sleep.
• 1 in 3 adults aged 35 to 64 do not get enough sleep.
• 1 in 4 adults aged 65 to 79 do not get enough sleep.

Children are not far behind. The agency's children's report found 1 in 4 children do not get enough sleep, 1 in 3 have trouble going to sleep or staying asleep, and 1 in 5 have trouble staying awake during the day (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2018). If you are setting up a child's room, our bunk beds and Canadian mattress size chart can help.

What Habits Get in the Way of Sleep?

The 2020 survey looked at two habits (Statistics Canada, 2022):

• Screens in bed: 68% of adults 18 to 64 and 60% of older adults used a phone, tablet or other screen within 30 minutes of bedtime.
• Uneven schedules: about two thirds of adults had very different sleep and wake times on work days and days off.

Short sleep also travels with stress. Among adults who did not get enough sleep, the Public Health Agency of Canada found:

• 36.3% reported chronic stress, against 23.2% of adults who slept enough.
• 12.3% reported poor mental health, against 5.8%.
• They had 4.0 hours of sedentary time a day, against 3.5 hours.

Source: Public Health Agency of Canada, Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep? (March 14, 2019; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2014 to 2015). These are links, not proof that one causes the other.

Canadian Sleep Statistics at a Glance

What Can You Change in Your Bedroom?

The Public Health Agency of Canada lists simple sleep habits (PHAC, 2019). Several of them come down to the room you sleep in:

• Keep a regular bedtime and wake time, days off included.
• Cut noise in the room where you sleep.
• Skip alcohol, caffeine and nicotine before bed.
• Exercise regularly, and try relaxation or mindfulness to manage stress.
• Leave the phone out of bed, given how many of us use screens in the last 30 minutes.

A mattress will not fix stress or a late coffee. But if you wake up sore or your old bed sags, it is worth a look. Here is how four mattresses from our catalogue compare. Thickness, sizes and weights come from the maker's spec on each product page. Prices are today's online prices.

Your bed frame matters too. A firm, flat base helps a foam mattress last. Our guide to the best platform beds in Canada and our roundup of different types of beds walk through the options, or browse platform beds.

Cool Dream 10 in Memory Foam Mattress
From $654.99

Cooling top layer, medium firm. Queen or king.

Royal Sleeper 6 in Memory Foam Mattress
From $309.99

Firm and thin. Twin to king.

Chime 10 in Hybrid Mattress, Medium
From $459.99

Gel memory foam over wrapped coils. Arrives in a box.

Ikidz Ocean Kids Mattress and Pillow
From $459.99

7 in memory foam in twin or full, pillow included.

Want more Canadian numbers? Our Canadian small space living statistics page covers home sizes, people living alone and renting, all from Statistics Canada and CMHC.

How Can You Cite These Sleep Statistics?

You are welcome to quote any figure on this page. Please cite the original report, linked beside each number, and link to this page if it helped. Always give the data year: the 2020 and 2007 to 2013 sleep hours were measured in different ways.

Sources used on this page (all checked October 2026):

1. Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Sleep behaviours among Canadian adults (March 16, 2022; 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey)
2. Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Duration and quality of sleep among Canadians aged 18 to 79 (September 20, 2017; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007 to 2013)
3. Statistics Canada, Health Reports: Prevalence of insomnia for Canadians aged 6 to 79 (December 19, 2018; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2007 to 2015)
4. Public Health Agency of Canada, Are Canadian adults getting enough sleep? (March 14, 2019; Canadian Health Measures Survey 2014 to 2015)
5. Public Health Agency of Canada, Are Canadian children getting enough sleep? (April 12, 2018)
6. Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology, Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Adults (2020)

Sleep in Canada: Common Questions

How many hours of sleep do Canadians get on average?

In the 2020 Canadian Community Health Survey, adults aged 18 to 64 averaged 7.9 hours a night and adults 65 and older averaged 8.1 hours. An older survey from 2007 to 2013 found about 7.1 to 7.2 hours, but it asked the question differently, so the two are not directly comparable.

What percentage of Canadians have insomnia?

Statistics Canada found 23.8% of adults had nighttime insomnia symptoms in 2014 to 2015, up from 16.8% in 2007 to 2009. That counts trouble falling or staying asleep most or all of the time, not a medical diagnosis.

How much sleep should a Canadian adult get?

The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines recommend 7 to 9 hours a night for adults aged 18 to 64 and 7 to 8 hours for adults 65 and older, with steady bed and wake times.

How much sleep do Canadian children need?

The Public Health Agency of Canada recommends 9 to 11 hours a night for children aged 5 to 13 and 8 to 10 hours for teens aged 14 to 17. About 1 in 4 children do not get enough.

Do Canadians use screens before bed?

Yes. In 2020, 68% of adults aged 18 to 64 and 60% of adults 65 and older used electronic media within 30 minutes of bedtime, according to Statistics Canada.

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