Saad Iqbal sleeps about five hours per night.
Iqbal, who moved to Edmonton in 2021 from Pakistan to study at the University of Alberta, is one of several recent immigrants who say sleep disorders are widespread in Alberta’s international student bodies and in some diaspora communities.
“It was affecting my attention in the classroom,” said Iqbal. “You’re very sleepy, you’re yawning, so you’re not attentive to the conversations that are taking place.”
Iqbal, vice-president of the U of A’s International Students’ Association, says time-zone differences, part-time jobs, and adjusting to a new environment all contribute to the difficulty some students face getting rest.
“The [students] that
