How Much Does Sleeplessness Cost?
Those who don’t sleep well know that their sleeplessness can cost them in terms of concentration, coordination and socialization … not to mention all of the health problems that can be caused by not sleeping enough. But how much does it truly cost us? The MarketWatch blog Encore took a look, and the findings were eye-opening:
- Insomnia causes the average American worker 11.3 days in lost productivity each year, according to the American Insomnia Study. For a self-employed person who earned $300 a day, that would add up to almost $3,400 a year in lost income.
- Older men who don’t get enough quality sleep are at a higher risk for high blood pressure, according to a study published in the journal Hypertension, and having that condition hits the average afflicted individual with $1,131 per year in additional medical costs.
- A a study published in the British Medical Journal , confirming the obvious, found that driving while drowsy was “a serious predictor of road traffic accidents”—which, of course, lead to higher insurance rates.
The blog post correctly points out that older individuals, who may be living on a fixed income, are more vulnerable to sleep issues.
Source: MarketWatch
