Experts say most Canadians are deprived on something that should be as basic as air, water or food -- sleep. Though sleep requirements clock in at more than eight hours for the average person, it seems many of us are coming up short.

"Most people are trying to fit too much into their day," says Dr. Jeffrey Lipsitz, medical director of the Sleep Disorder Centre of Metropolitan Toronto. "They may be pressured by work, social and family commitments."

Lipsitz says adults need between 8.25 and 8.5 hours of sleep a night on average.

"The bad news is, nobody's getting it," Lipsitz told Canada AM Monday. "It's very hard to find eight and a half hours a night to allocate towards sleep."

Lipsitz says the toll of Canadian's collective sleep shortage is immense. He estimates that $100 billion a year is lost in productivity, workplace accidents and health care costs.

"We're having an inordinate number of motor vehicle crashes as a result of sleep loss, we have errors and accidents and inefficiencies in the workplace as a result of a tired work force."

So how can Canadians reduce the deficit?

Experts say the best way is to improve their sleep hygiene.

That means, for example, keeping a regular sleep schedule -- waking up at the same time every day will make it easier to fall asleep at night. Experts also recommend exercising no later than six hours before bed, avoiding alcohol, nicotine and caffeine and not eating large meals close to bedtime.

But Lipsitz says some people may just need more sleep, while others can get by and still feel great on less. He calls these people "long" and "short" sleepers respectively.

"The problem is most of us pretend we're short sleepers when we're not."