Trends

Of all of the costs associated with insomnia, employers are paying the most—in lost productivity and insomnia-related absences, according to researchers at the Université Laval, who say that the indirect losses account for 76% of the $6.6 billion total cost of insomnia. They estimate that insomnia-related productivity losses cost the province’s employers a whopping $5 billion each year, with absenteeism making up $970.6 million of those costs.

The direct costs of insomnia and related syndromes also add up: healthcare consultations account for $191.2 million of the total costs, while transportation ($36.6 million) and prescription medications ($16.5 million) boost the totals even higher. They continue to mount when the sleepless turn to over-the-counter products ($1.8 million) and alcohol ($339.8 million) in their quest for some shut-eye.

The researchers questioned almost 1,000 residents of Quebec about their sleeping and work habits as well as their health status and drug use. They also assessed provincial health insurance data on insomnia-related consultations and treatments.

“As the economic burden of untreated insomnia is much higher than that of treating insomnia, future clinical trials should evaluate the cost-benefits, cost-utility, and cost-effectiveness of insomnia therapies,” the researchers conclude. Their findings appear in a recent issue of the journal Sleep.

On-site encouragement equals off-site exercise: study

Just because your workplace doesn’t have its own gym doesn’t mean that you can’t get employees moving. New findings from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine show that workplace exercise promotions can prompt employees to exercise on their own time.

Researchers at the University of Georgia followed Home Depot workers in the U.S. and Canada through a 12-week “intervention” program aimed at boosting their “moderate-to-vigorous physical activity” (MVPA). At the start of the program, one-third (31%) of the workers met the recommended level of regular physical activity. By the end, 51% did, the study found. The increase in participation “would be meaningful for public health if it could be sustained,” the study states.

Participants made the biggest gains in the first two weeks, increasing their MVPA from just under 150 minutes per week to just under 250. By week six, they exceeded 300 minutes of MVPA per week, holding that progress through the final week.

Among the key motivators: a focus on personal goals, group goals and support from employee-management committees. A program handbook helped participants set personal goals, skirt obstacles and stay motivated.

“Future research on workplace physical activity intervention should build on these results by comparing components of organizational action and incentives with personal or group goal-setting to determine their relative efficacy, effectiveness and sustainability,” the researchers conclude.

For a PDF version of this article, click here.

© Copyright 2009 Rogers Publishing Ltd. This article first appeared in the January/Feburary 2009 edition of WORKING WELL magazine.