One in Four Call in Sick for Sleep

Have you ever called in “sleepy”?  New research indicates that, at least in Canada, it’s pretty common.

According to a new survey, nearly four million people, or 26% of the country’s work force, have called in sick to catch up on sleep.  Taking into account those sick days, sleep deprivation has cost companies almost three-quarters of a billion dollars in lost work hours.

“Surprisingly, but perhaps not to some, Toronto enjoys the best sleep in the country,” said Chris Herlihey, Vice President Research at IPG Mediabrands. “The cities topping the list have a higher percentage of kids living at home versus Toronto, which has more singles compared to the rest of the country. No matter how you slice it, however, lack of sleep is a serious problem. Sleeplessness is impacting people physically and they’re looking to catch up on sleep whenever they can even if it means calling in sick for some rest.”

Part two of the study asked 1,000 Canadians what was keeping them up at night. Of the 20 different criteria listed, pain was the most often cited reason for keeping respondents awake at night (46%), followed by uncomfortable room temperature (31%) and work stress (29%). Other notable reasons for sleeping problems are illness (27%), their partner’s snoring (21%), too much caffeine (18%) and indigestion or heartburn (18%).

Source: News Release