If you think the worst thing that comes out of a poor nights’ sleep is a foul mood and a strong desire for coffee, you’re badly mistaken.

The monetary cost of sleep

In 2010, sleep disorders cost the health system an estimated 818 million dollars.

• 31% was due to depression and anxiety
• 24% was due to some form of CVD
• 10% was due to vehicular accidents
• 15% was due to work-related injuries
• 14% was due to coronary heart disease
• 6% was due to stroke

Indirect costs of sleeping disorders were estimated to be $4.3 billion.

Of this, 3.1 billion was due to mortality, absenteeism and days off work.

Lost productivity, costs associated with vehicular accidents, public health spending and social security payments accounted for $472 million dollars.

What this means for you

One way or another, your wallet is being hit, whether it’s through taxes, lost job opportunities, employees going on sick leave, or through healthcare costs.

Heart health and sleep

Sleep and heart health seem to go hand in hand.

An examination of several papers found that there were strong links between sleeping disorders and CVD. A causal relationship between the two couldn’t be found due to other confounding health factors, like diabetes and obesity.

What this means for you

Your poor sleep might be a cause or symptom of worsening heart health.

Depression and sleep

Not sleeping right can increase your chances of developing depression.

People living with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) are:

Mild OSA – 2 times more likely to develop depression

Moderate to severe OSA – 2.6 times more likely to develop depression

People with a history of insomnia are 4 times as likely to develop depression.

What this means for you

Getting a proper night’s rest is great for your mind and your mood!

Motor vehicle accidents and sleep

Finding yourself drowsy at your desk during the day? You’re twice as likely to experience an accident.

While insomnia doesn’t appear to affect the risk of an accident, sleep apnoea does to extreme levels. Sleep apnoea makes you:

• 2-7 times more likely to get into an accident
• Experience similar impairment to drunkenness or sleep deprivation; and
• The severity of the apnoea is correlated with the likelihood of an accident

What this means for you

Sleep apnoea is a killer, and it might not be only you that it kills.

Workplace accidents and sleep

A sleepy worker isn’t a productive worker, or a particularly safe one either.

Consequences for workplace sleepiness vary between the bad to life-threatening. Workers with sleeping problems are associated with loss of concentration, mistakes, errors, and contribute to larger problems within organisations.

The situation worsens for those living with sleep apnoea, insomnia, excessive day sleepiness and snoring, as they’re 1.5 to 3 times more likely to experience workplace injuries.

What this means for you

Getting enough sleep allows you to perform at your best and lessen your chances of getting injured at work.

How to get a proper night’s rest

Three easy ways to try and improve your sleep are:

• Getting your environment in order – invest in a good mattress, keep your room dark, and try to keep relatively cool
• Update your eating and napping habits – avoid napping during the day, eating too late, or consuming stimulants after lunch
• Clear your mind – put down the smartphones and tablets, avoid looking at the clock

If you do suffer from insomnia, sleep apnoea, or any other sleeping disorder, please see your doctor. Treatments for sleeping conditions are very readily accessible and are usually highly effective.

Sources

All statistics have been drawn from THE Sleep Health Foundation’s Re-awakening Australia – The economic cost of sleep disorders in Australia, 2010.