Our story
Meet Dr. Anya
McLaren-Barnett
Hi, I'm Anya. I'm a pediatric respirologist (pulmonologist) and sleep medicine physician, and I built The Sleep Health Organization to close the pediatric sleep gap.
The sleep gap, in numbers
Sleep problems are among the most common concerns families raise, and among the least covered in clinical training.
Do not get enough sleep for their age (40.3%).
Report insomnia symptoms: unrefreshing sleep, difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, or early awakening.
High school students do not get enough sleep on school nights (76.8% in 2023, up from 68.9% in 2007).
U.S. teens report insomnia symptoms lasting two weeks or longer.
Where this comes from
- Wheaton AG, Claussen AH. Short sleep duration among infants, children, and adolescents aged 4 months to 17 years, United States, 2016 to 2018. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 2021;70(38). Source of the 2 in 5 infants figure: 40.3% of infants aged 4 to 11 months slept less than recommended for their age (parent-reported, National Survey of Children's Health).
- Bommersbach TJ, et al. Insufficient sleep among US adolescents across behavioral risk groups. JAMA, 2026. Source of the 3 in 4 high school students figure (Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007 to 2023).
- Blank M, et al. Health correlates of insomnia symptoms and comorbid mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of US adolescents. Sleep, 2015;38(2):197–204. Source of the 1 in 3 teens figure (National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement, data collected 2001 to 2004).
Why I built this
Sleep was missing from my training.
So I built what was missing.
Between birth and 18 years of age, we have a shared responsibility as parents, caregivers inside and outside healthcare, and mentors: to help every child build the foundation they need to thrive as an adult. Sleep sits at the centre of that foundation.
Sleep is simple. Yet for many families it does not feel that way, and those of us who work with children have often been left just as under-equipped to help. Pediatric sleep has been overlooked for too long.
Almost ten years ago I found myself unfulfilled in my practice. Even when I successfully treated sleep-disordered breathing, my patients still struggled. The behavioural and developmental side of sleep went untouched, and I did not have the tools to help. The reason was simple: pediatric sleep health is not taught in medical school or residency. An entire generation of clinicians entered practice without a framework for one of the most common challenges families bring them.
Then it became personal. After the birth of my second child I experienced postpartum anxiety, and the intersection of sleep and mental health hit close to home. I pursued further training in behavioural sleep medicine and made a decision: if this gap existed in my own training as a sleep specialist, it existed everywhere. The Sleep Health Organization was created to close that gap for physicians, practitioners and families, because sleep support should reach every child, whatever their background or circumstance.
As seen on Global News
Why the clock change matters for children’s sleep
Dr. Anya speaks with Global News about the twice-yearly clock change and how it can affect children’s sleep.
Our story
How we got here
Sleep health is a critical part of a child's overall development, particularly in the early years.
I graduated from medical school and spent the next six years training in pediatric medicine, pediatric respirology (pulmonology), and pediatric sleep medicine. During the later part of that training I also worked as a community pediatrician, resuscitating newborns and caring for children with acute medical issues as well as respiratory and sleep concerns.
On my second maternity leave, about seven years into working as a clinician, researcher, and teacher, I had authored several research publications and received national and international awards for that work. Even so, a restlessness sat underneath it, and a question I could not shake: is this it? Over the following months I realized that restlessness was tied to a strong desire to reach more children and families than I ever could from a single clinic.
The Sleep Gap started on Instagram, with a simple idea: talk about children's sleep health to anyone who would listen. Shortly afterward a pediatric sleep consultant asked whether I had any courses or programs available, and that question changed everything.
After speaking with five child health professionals across three countries, I knew the gap was real, and I began building SHIP® to close it.
The Sleep Health Organization was founded. Welcome, and thank you for being part of it.
Founder and CEO of The Sleep Health Organization, working to help child health professionals worldwide care for sleep with confidence. SHIP®, the Sleep Health Intelligence Program, takes a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to childhood sleep, so that no child's sleep struggles go unaddressed and no parent or caregiver is left without the guidance they need.
Trusted partners
Who we work with
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up today!
Download the free pediatric melatonin guide, written for the parents asking questions and the clinicians answering them.
Sleep is simple. Join a community of parents and clinicians getting evidence-based pediatric sleep tips you can actually use, delivered straight to your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parent · Pediatrician or Physician · Occupational Therapist · Sleep and Child Health Practitioner