2023-08-14 09:04:28
A person has chronic insomnia when they have trouble falling asleep at least three nights a week for three months. It is a disorder that has negative consequences for health but also for the economy of developed countries. A study quantifies the annual loss of GDP for this reason at 372,000 million euros.
The report reflects “Social and economic burden of insomnia in adults” Prepared by the international non-profit research organization RAND Europe in collaboration with the company Indorsia. 15% of adults have chronic insomnia.
The objective of the study focuses on knowing the effects of insomnia beyond its impact on health and health care.
Study in 16 countries
Thus, it analyzes the effects of this disorder in relation to indirect economic costs -which are not related to health care- and intangibles -those not directly detected in economic transactions, but which have an impact on the health or well-being of an individual. -.
And it does so in 16 countries: Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Spain, the United States, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Switzerland.
According to the report, 50% of working-age adults have symptoms of insomnia, a total of 172 million; up to 25%, of clinical insomnia (72 million); and 15%, of chronic insomnia (42 million people), its most serious form.
The economic impact of not being able to sleep
And insomnia carries an economic impact each year from lost productivity at work because adults who suffer from it are more prone to absenteeism from work and therefore do not perform as well.
Specifically, the report details that in terms of indirect costs, chronic insomnia has been linked to 11-18 days of absenteeism39-45 days of presenteeism and 44-54 days of general loss of productivity per year.
In this way, the indirect costs of this disorder associated with the loss of labor productivity represent between 1,600 and 185,000 million euros, which represents a total of 372,000 million euros) of the gross domestic product (GDP).
EFE/Adi Weda
And the annual intangible welfare losses between 1,300 and 113,300 million euros (a total of 213,600 million euros) in the 16 countries analyzed.
In the case of Spain, the loss of annual labor productivity would amount to 10,703 million euros.
With all this, the economic projections of the study indicate that eliminating the effects of insomnia through policies of “prevention, education, routine diagnosis and early treatment” would increase productivity at work, which would have a positive impact on GDP.
The need for restful sleep
Research has also addressed intangible costs that generates insomnia, as it is linked to the deterioration of the quality of life.
Thus, according to the document, adults who suffer from insomnia are willing to give up 14% of their household’s annual per capita income in exchange for obtaining the same degree of satisfaction with their lives as those who do not suffer from it.
In this sense, the coordinator of the Labor, Economy and Business group of the Alliance for the Dream, Dr. Carmen Bellido Cambrónpoints out that for adequate occupational health “it is necessary for employees to have a quality restful sleep”.
EFE/Str
Bellido, who is also a researcher and coordinator of the Occupational Risk Prevention Service at the Hospital de Castellón, abounds that there is a “bidirectional relationship between sleep and work”.
“If you do not sleep well at night, you will not be productive during the day and you will be more prone to work absenteeism, you will have up to 88% more probability of accidents at work and in itinere, you will reduce your productivity, your job satisfaction will decrease, you will be a source of conflict with your colleagues at work and without being aware of it, you will be damaging your physical and mental health”, highlights the researcher.
But in addition, lack of sleep influences irritability, resilience, emotional management or conflicts of the employee at work, considerably affecting the organization as a whole, continues Bellido.
Strategies to stand up to him
“Any intervention to reduce insomnia, whether at the primary, secondary or tertiary prevention level, would be of great importance to public health and organizations, and would also promote better employee health and well-being. Establishing prevention programs for this occupational risk is key for organizations”, says the expert.
The study emphasizes the need to carry out a number of strategies at a political, research and clinical practice level to mitigate and palliate the consequences of this disorder.
Among them: incorporating sleep into national health strategies, promoting public health campaigns that emphasize the importance of adequate sleep hygiene, and implementing systematic early detection of insomnia disorder in routine medical visits through screening.
Likewise, it advocates the establishment of coordinated protocols between the different levels of care to guarantee patients timely access to diagnosis and treatment.
All of this coupled with “up-to-date” training on this disorder in medical schools, and providing access and reimbursement for safe, scientifically-backed pharmacological innovation.
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