Show this to your boss and ask for a nap

A new study done by Merck & Co. has calculated the national tab for insomnia and it comes to $63.2 billion annually in lost productivity. That figure breaks down to over $2,000 per year, for the average American worker. 

LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - Employers might want to reconsider the impact of insomnia in light of this study. Insomnia isn't taken very seriously by employers, since it doesn't usually cause employees to miss work. What the study suggests however, is that while the workers show up, their performance is poor, and expensive. 

If the results are accurate, then insomnia may be one of the most expensive health problems for workers and their employers, costing more than many other medical conditions. Lead author of the study, Ronald C. Kessler said in a news release, "We were shocked by the enormous impact insomnia has on the average person's life." 

Kessler continued, "It's an under appreciated 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."

Researchers monitored the sleep habits and work performance of 7,428 workers who took part in Harvard Medical School's American Insomnia survey in 2008-09. 

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Almost a quarter of those surveyed had insomnia, which is characterized by difficulty in falling or staying asleep. The rates were higher for working women than men, and those with college education were more likely to suffer from insomnia (21.5 percent) than those who did not finish high school (19.9 percent). 

Merck & Co. funded the study as they develop a new sleeping pill. The results may become part of a marketing campaign for the new drug. 

The full report appears in the current issue of the medical journal, Sleep. 

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