A billion-dollar sleep economy promises to help you snooze better. Should you buy in?

Cost of Living9:10Welcome to the sleep economy

Tyler Rankin has gone to great lengths in his quest for better sleep. Tired of tossing and turning for years, he's tried nearly every sleep gadget and remedy on the market — spending close to $1,000 in the process. 

"I've tried noise machines, weighted blankets, melatonin, magnesium, sleep teas, sleep tape, sleep hypnotism, sleep masks, nose cones," Rankin, 28, who lives in Etobicoke, Ont., told Cost of Living.  

"Pretty much everything under the sun, I've tried it." 

Many Canadians are searching for ways to get a better sleep. According to a survey of 4,037 Canadian adults published last year, one in six Canadians suffers from insomnia. 

As people spend more on sleep-related products, the global sleep aids market has grown in value. In 2023, the market had an estimated value of $104 billion annually, according to recent data collected by Statista, and is projected to reach $188 billion by 2032. 

And according to experts, a good night's sleep is also key to the economy. 

Michael Mak, clinical vice-president of the Canadian Sleep Society, says poor sleep not only incurs costs for individuals who shell out cash in their search for better sleep. 

Insomnia symptoms in Canada cost the Canadian economy $1.9 billion, caused by health-care costs and lost productivity, according to a 2022 study published in the journal Sleep Health. 

"[It] includes direct costs like how much the government pays doctors to see people with insomnia [and] how much patients are paying for sleeping pills and therapy to help their sleep," he said. 

Indirect costs, says Mak, include reduced productivity if an employee is suffering from insomnia and unable to perform at their best, or by not being able to go to work at all. 

What are people buying?

People are dishing out dough on an assortment of sleep enhancers, from hundreds or even thousands of dollars on fluffy pillows and mattresses, or products like essential oil sprays to bask in a spritz of calm before bed.

"Canadians are more interested about how to prevent themselves from being sick and to be as healthy as possible," said Mak. 

"[They] realize that sleep is an important pillar of good health alongside exercise and diet."  

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Statistics Canada says, on average, Canadians are sleeping about an hour less per night than we did in 2005. It's a growing health concern, but, for a growing number of business people, it is also an opportunity.

But it's not just products that people are buying. Services aimed at improving sleep are becoming increasingly popular, prompting entire industries to adapt their offerings for the sleep-deprived.

According to Laura Ell, a consultant for the United Nations Tourism Organization, the travel industry is jumping on the burgeoning sleep tourism trend. Gone are jam-packed itineraries with travellers jetting off in search of better sleep, whether that's choosing to visit a relaxing destination like an island surrounded by soothing ocean waves or staying the night in a hotel retrofitted for sleep, says Ell. 

Ell experienced a sleep-focused holiday during a stay at a hotel in South Korea. She was able to choose from a "whole menu" of pillows, duvets and mattresses with different levels of firmness, softness and texture.

"Years ago, it would be maybe the granola, crunchy, kinda hippie yoga retreat places … but now, people are really appreciating the importance of taking care of themselves," she said.

What's the cost to businesses?

Businesses, too, are trying to tackle the sleep-deprivation problem head on.

Greg Stirrett, president and CEO of Rebel Sleep Institute, says his sleep clinic works with primary-care physicians and specialists to diagnose and treat referred patients. 

But Stirrett says they've also expanded their service to a new area: working directly with companies to identify and treat their employees' sleep problems. 

"There's an increased awareness about the risks associated with untreated sleep disorders and fatigue in the workplace … [which] I think is largely unaddressed," he said. 

"Happier and healthier individuals are more productive at work. They make fewer errors, they work better with their colleagues, as well as there are far fewer incidents of injury."

Filling a need and demand 

Tim Silk, an associate professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, says companies producing sleep aids and services are responding to what they see as gaps in the market. 

"But are we being sold snake oil or are these things actually effective?" said Silk.  

"Mattresses and pillows … while they might actually be somewhat effective, they're Band-Aids if you have sleep apnea, right?" 

Mak says as awareness of sleep health becomes more common, people should be careful to not be "misled into sleep treatments and products that don't actually help from a scientific point of view." 

In the end, Rankin says his reprieve from sleeplessness didn't come from the gadgets he amassed, but from improving his sleep hygiene — adjusting his habits, like not looking at screens before bed, to help him fall and stay asleep.

"Don't fall into the traps of consumer goods at the very start.... It's amazing there are tools out there to help people, but getting rid of distractions is the most important thing," he said. 

"If you're not doing those things, then there's no point in jumping into a $300 weighted blanket."