Sleep Is Money; US Loses $63 Billion A Year To Insomnia Woes

Sleep is good, but it is also money. A lack of it has been shown to severely impact the nation's economy in the tune of costing the average American worker 11.3 days, or $2,280 in lost productivity each year. That adds up to $63.2 billion (and 252.7 workdays) for the whole country, and that is a lot of opportunity lost. 

Ronald C. Kessler, head author of the study said:

"It's an underappreciated problem. Americans are not missing work because of insomnia. They are still going to their jobs but accomplishing less because they're tired. In an information-based economy, it's difficult to find a condition that has a greater effect on productivity."

Data were collected on a nationally representative sample of 7,428 full-time employed people, who were participating in the longitudinal American Insomnia Study. Researchers asked survey questions specifically dealing with sleep habits and work performance, and found that sleeplessness was a significant detractor from productivity.

Nearly 23% of employees were estimated to have insomnia, and that figure was agreed upon by sleep medicine experts, who independently evaluated a subsample of the study group. Researchers also found that workers over 65 were less likely to have insomnia (14%) and that men were less likely (20%) to have trouble sleeping than women (27%).

Given that the average cost of insomnia treatment ranges from $200 a year for a sleep aid to $1,200 per year for behavior modification therapy, the study's author suggests that screening and treating workers' sleep issues may be worthwhile for employers.

Well what else can help? While treating underlying physical and mental issues is a good first step, it may not be enough to cure insomnia. One may also need to look at daily habits. Some of the things a person is doing to cope with insomnia may actually be making the problem worse.

For example, using sleeping pills or alcohol to fall asleep, in fact disrupts sleep even more over the long-term. Or maybe you drink excessive amounts of coffee during the day, making it harder to fall asleep later. Oftentimes, changing the habits that are reinforcing sleeplessness is enough to overcome the insomnia altogether. It may take a few days for your body to get used to the change, but once you do, you will sleep better.

Some habits are so ingrained that you may overlook them as a possible contributor to your insomnia. Maybe your daily Starbucks habit affects your sleep more than you realize. Or maybe you've never made the connection between your late-night TV viewing or Internet surfing and your sleep difficulties. Keeping a sleep diary is a helpful way to pinpoint habits and behaviors contributing to your insomnia.

The more trouble you have with sleep, the more it starts to invade your thoughts. You may dread going to sleep because you just know that you're going to toss and turn for hours or be up at 2 a.m. again. Or maybe you're worried because you have a big day tomorrow, and if you don't get a solid 8 hours, you're sure you'll blow it.

Agonizing and expecting sleep difficulties only makes insomnia worse. Worrying about getting to sleep or how tired you're going to be floods your body with adrenaline, and before you know it, you're wide-awake.

Written by Sy Kraft 


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