By Don R. Powell, PhD., founder and president, American Institue for Preventive Medicine
It is becoming overwhelmingly obvious that insomnia and the sleep deprivation that results from it are causing a number of negative consequences for individuals and employers. A study reported in the Journal of Occupational Environmental Medicine in January 2007 found:
• During a two-week period, 39.7 percent of workers reported being fatigued. Of this group, 65.7 percent reported health-related lost productivity time compared to 26.5 percent of workers without fatigue; and
• Fatigued workers cost employers $136.4 billion annually in health-related lost productivity. This is an excess of $101 billion compared to workers without fatigue.
• It also has been reported that insomnia costs employers about 4.4 days of wages per untreated individual over a six-month period. This doesn´t include money spent on indirect costs, such as lost productivity and costs spent to treat the medical consequences of insomnia. According to a 2005 National Sleep Foundation poll:
• Only 26 percent of persons said they got eight or more hours of sleep on weekdays (as compared to 38 percent in 2001);
• Sleep problems are cited as the most common reason people are late for work; and
• Almost 3 in 10 working adults say they have missed work or made errors at work due to sleep-related issues in the past three months.
Serious Side Effects
According to a
• 50 to 70 million people in the
• The cumulative effects of sleep loss and sleep disorders are linked to a wide range of health problems. These include increased risk of depression, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, heart attack and stroke.
• Almost 20 percent of all serious car crash injuries in the general population are linked to driver sleepiness, independent of alcohol effects.
Tackling Sleep Deprivation
In "sight" of these consequences, it is beneficial to address employee insomnia and sleep deprivation. What can you do?
First, take an overall look at your company´s policies and expectations regarding work schedules and demands. Results of a study done by a
• Are employees expected to work more due to increased workloads prompted by budget cuts, fewer employees, travel and global economy needs?
• Are employees expected to respond to work needs even when they are not at work, such as through e-mails, pagers and BlackBerries?
Second, look at ways you can help your employees identify if they have a problem and give them tools to help them deal with it. This is important because there is a general lack of public awareness about sleep-related health issues. Here is easy, educational information you can provide:
• Material about insomnia and the importance of good sleep habits from sources such as the National Sleep Foundation and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; and
• Provide employees with products that can help them get a good night´s sleep. An example is the HealthyLife SleepWell© from the American Institute for Preventive Medicine (www.HealthyLife.com), which consists of a booklet with well-researched behavior modification techniques and a CD with soothing music, sounds and exercises.
And third, explore and offer ways to help employees who have insomnia or are sleep deprived.
• Provide flexible work schedules.
• See that employees schedule and take advantage of scheduled vacation days.
• Offer worksite rest times if needed.
• Add resources that diagnose and treat sleep disorders to your employee assistance program.
• Enlist the services of companies that provide worksite seminars and/or individual phone conferencing about sleep problems.
Opening your eyes to the consequences of employee insomnia and sleep deprivation may prompt you to evaluate how much, if any, workplace practices contribute to the problem. It also may motivate you to take action to help your employees treat their sleep problems. Ignoring the issue may be very costly.
Dr. Don R. Powell is a licensed psychologist who has been involved with wellness since 1971. He is the winner of numerous awards for his work in the health field and has appeared on hundreds of television shows. Contact the institute by phone at 800-345-2476 x 221 or through the website, www.healthylife.com.