Waking News! Insomnia More Expensive to Ignore

Heavy eyelids all day? Lay staring at the ceiling, desperately waiting for the thousandth sheep to finally take you off to dreamland, all while dreading the looming attack of the alarm? Wake up in the morning with all the covers kicked violently off the bed?

You may be one in 5 Americans who suffer from some type sleep disorder. Or the one in 10 that suffer from chronic insomnia.

And you may be one of the millions who go untreated.

Many people regard their nighttimes as “private” and tend to not talk about them, but what they might not realize is that problems at night can cause even worse ones during the day. A recent study in the medical journal Sleep revealed the major economic burden insomnia has on sufferers.

The results of the study showed that chronic insomnia can cost an individual up to 5 days of wages inside of 6 months, and that doesn’t even include the loss of productivity from a drowsy worker.

"There's a strong link between poor sleep and anxiety," says Dr. Taylor, Bariatric Pyschiatrist from Hamilton Ontario, “And that can affect work performance, and health.”

And those few days alone are more than worth the relatively cheap cost of treatment in comparison. Want more incentive? Medical bills for insomnia patients are statistically and appreciably higher than those who get a good night’s rest. What kind of medical bills? Well besides the general run-down immune system, there’s also an increase in obesity, blood pressure, and as before mentioned, anxiety.

“Obesity is commonly found hand-in-hand with disordered sleeping,” explains Dr. Arya Sharma, Director of the Canadian Obesity Network, “often increasing the intake of carbohydrates.”

In other words: you staying up late means you’re probably snacking on things you shouldn’t be. Maybe it’s time to put down the Cheetos.

So what kind of treatment is out there? More than you would think. Therapy spreads widely from lifestyle changes, natural medications or FDA approved, clinically effective drugs. So talk to your doctor, or visit a local sleep clinic. Even if you have a nonchalant attitude towards sleeping, let the dollar signs speak for themselves.