Sleep 'is as important as diet and exercise'

Making sure you get seven to eight hours sleep a night is as important as eating healthily and keeping fit when it comes to a person's health, according to Doctor Najib Ayas from the Vancouver Coastal Health Sleep Disorders Programme.

Speaking to The Province, he said: "My standpoint is sleep is one of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle, along with diet and exercise."

Dr Ayas said he thought it was difficult to get enough sleep these days because we live in a 24-hour society where there is more emphasis on staying up late and pressure to cut down on the amount of shut-eye we get.

However, Doctor Maureen Ceresney from the UBC Sleep Disorders Clinic said sleep disorders such as sleep apnea are now starting to get the recognition they deserve.

Margaret Thatcher is famously believed to have survived on four hours sleep a night while she was prime minister.

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