Cracking the Sleep Code

Sleep Deprivation Affects Everyone... Even Pastors: Turn Off Your Cell Phone in Church!

Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, a snoring partner...they all rob us of something we so desperately need!  What would life be like if every night we hit the pillow, we would sleep straight through for the next 7 hours?  I do know, after being in the sleep business and struggling with disruptive sleep myself, that we would be different people.

These are some differences that I think would take place...

1. More patience, with everything and everyone.

2. More time in the day..meaning you wouldn't be
    cat napping or making up for lack of sleeping the
    late morning.

3. less divorces, period.

4. More energy...resulting in more exercise and
    more weight loss

5. Less driving accidents and driving accident deaths

6. Less health risks associated with sleep disorder breathing,
    i.e.---highblood pressure, arrhythmia's, congestive heart
    failure and permanent cessation of breath during sleep.

7.  Higher employment retention

Again, these are only some of the things that would change in our lives.  This doesn't include the enormous chain reaction.  There are so many "normal" people affected by the sleep deprived people.

I can definitely identify with this man in the video.  Proper cell phone etiquette craves community awareness just as much as the risks associated with snoring and sleep apnea.  But I think we'll have less chance of "cracking" if we can get the sleep that we need...

What do you think?

Are sleep disorders hurting company productivity?!

I found this article at Yahoo and wanted to share it with you.  It's important to take notice of the trickle affect that sleep deprivation can cause.  My discussion/suggestions are below.

Untreated insomnia leads to substantial costs in US                

By Will Boggs, MD Wed Mar 21,  3:06 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Untreated insomnia among adults in the United States generates significant direct and indirect costs, according to a report in the medical journal "Sleep," so treating this condition is probably cost-effective. 

"Our study suggests that ignoring insomnia will result in substantially higher medical expenditures and lost days of productivity at work," Dr. Ronald J. Ozminkowski from Thomson Medstat, Ann Arbor, Michigan told Reuters Health.

Ozminkowski and associates used data obtained from medical claims to investigate the direct costs and employee absenteeism, and short-term disability records to estimate the indirect costs, associated with treated and untreated insomnia.

Patients who were eventually diagnosed with insomnia had significantly higher direct medical expenses than those who were never diagnosed with insomnia, the results indicate. The difference in the average direct costs, defined as the medical expenses of untreated insomnia, was $924 for patients under age 65 and $1143 for older patients.

Absenteeism costs averaged $3042 for patients with untreated insomnia, compared with $2637 for patients without insomnia, a difference of $405, the researchers note.

Similarly, short-term disability expenditures were $86 higher for patients with untreated insomnia than for patients never diagnosed with insomnia, the report indicates.

"Chronic insomnia is estimated to affect about 10 percent of the U.S. population, so it would not be surprising if at least 1 out of 10...patients had it," Ozminkowski said.

Information in the published literature "also suggests that most people with insomnia seek over-the-counter treatment, or get no treatment, for lengthy periods of time," Ozminkowski continued. "It may be more useful for employers and health plans to find better ways to motivate employees and health plan beneficiaries with insomnia to seek formal treatment, to avoid unnecessary medical expenditures or lost productivity."

SOURCE: Sleep, March 1, 2007.

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If lack of sleep can and does result in divorce, destructive behaviors, driving accidents, heart complications, depression and anxiety--- it makes sense that productivity at the work place would suffer.

  This article is talking about insomnia but really can pertain to any sleep disorder as they all have the end result...sleep deprivation.  Many people with sleep problems don't seek the help they need.  Some think that their insomnia will eventually go away while  others don't want to be told to take sleep medication. Some sleep apnea sufferers think that a CPAP machine is the only treatment and don't want to even venture in that direction.  There are now minimally invasive surgeries as well as non-surgical methods to help sleep apnea sufferers.  As for the insomniac, there are cures other than medications... as I and many others have realized.   Many people don't take steps to get help because of lack of knowledge about the treatments and different cures available. 

What if companies would incorporate sleep support?  There would be a "sleep guidance counselor" available by phone or appointment that would help direct people with their specific sleep issues.  The sleep guidance counselor would give guidance on what specialists are available and give support on the treatments for sleep apnea.  Regarding the CPAP machine, the compliance level of this treatment can be low.  If they had a personal coach motivating them to try different masks or nasal/mouth apparatuses, I've got to believe the compliance level with this treatment would increase.

As for the insomniacs, they would be taught the different methods to conquer their insomnia as well as having daily follow-up on their progression.  Many times insomnia is caused by a habit as the brain becomes programmed with a certain sleep pattern.  The sleep guidance counselor would be there to help them follow a program, break the habit and get their sleep back on track.

 I believe that with this simple structure in the workplace people would be more motivated to take action in order to cure their problem. When support is at your door step and someone is assigned to your sleep progress, positive results are sure to follow.