Insomnia Revealed

To get an over-all view of Insomnia, click this image to go to our Insomnia Overview page. It gives a clear view of the causes, effects, and treatments for insomnia.

At times… people just can’t sleep

Very few if no one can say that they sleep like a baby every single night in their lives. There are just hot summers, cold winters and loud thunderstorms. During these times, it is often difficult to fall asleep. But even without these events, some people still find it difficult to sleep.

Imsomnia is the difficulty to fall asleep or stay asleep. Those who have imsomnia lie in bed for hours, failing to fall asleep.  Some wake up early in the morning unable to get back to sleep. Some people simply can’t sleep because they have to go to work again in a few hours. This may be due to changes in schedule or they just have too many jobs to meet the demands of today’s economy. Some people may have had just a bit too much fun the night before. They came home late and can’t afford more than just a few hours of sleep before work the next day. There can be many reasons why people don’t get enough sleep.

When people can’t sleep

“When you have insomnia, you’re never really asleep, and you’re never really awake.”

~From the movie Fight Club, based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk
People who have imsomnia usually go on through their days half asleep or half awake. They tend to feel sleepy or drowsy, tired, depressed and irritable throughout the day. When night falls, it’s another sleepless night or another night without enough sleep. Constant sleep deprivation can affect your immune system and your brain’s ability to process information. Insomnia also might not be just that. It can be a symptom of another sleep disorder or medical condition.

Imsomnia affects approximately one-third of the world’s population and 35 to 40% of the US adult population every year. As of 2005, the National Institute of Health claims more than 70 million Americans have insomnia. The US government spends $14 billion annually for insomnia treatment, health services, hospital and nursing home care as direct costs. Indirect costs are estimated to be $28 billion due to work loss, property damage from accidents and transportation to and from healthcare providers. A grand total of $42 billion every year is what insomnia is costing the US and this amount increases as the amount of insomniacs continues to grow. The daytime functioning of insomniacs is an important factor in understanding the impact of imsomnia on workers.

Insomnia in the workplace

Working people who suffer from imsomnia or other sleep disorders have twice the average rate of absenteeism than those who sleep regularly. Absenteeism is what contributes to work loss the most. Falling asleep unintentionally during work hours at least once a month is also a common occurrence. Statistics show that 7% of workers unintentionally fall asleep during work hours and 23.1% during break time.

Absenteeism can also be caused by accidents. Studies also show that there is a higher rate of work-related accidents where insomniacs are involved. In some industries, these occupational accidents may even be fatal. These incidents were also found to be twice as likely in workers who reported difficulty sleeping. Occupational accidents are hard on employers, they may be deemed liable for injuries of third parties caused by their employees. Employers will then have to take greater precautions to reduce sleepiness and fatigue in the workplace. Particularly when both result in significant risk to public and environmental safety, health and over-all productivity.

Insomnia vs. DUI

To get an over-all view of Insomnia, click this image to go to our Insomnia Overview page. It gives a clear view of the causes, effects, and treatments for insomnia.

Sleepiness surpasses alcohol and drugs as the greatest identifiable and preventable cause of accidents in all modes of transport. Whether or not you work for transportation companies, being an insomniac and driving never go well together. Sleepiness is a greater traffic hazard than alcohol. Approximately 15-30 percent of today’s traffic accidents are related to drowsiness. Accidents where drivers fall asleep behind the wheel result in three times as many fatalities as other traffic-related accidents.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports drowsy-driving to be involved in at least 100,000 motor-vehicle crashes. These go up to 1,500 deaths per year. 71,000 of these crashes resulted in non-fatal injuries. $12.5 billion is the annual monetary loss related to drowsy-driving.

Life in a 24-hour society

Moving towards a fully 24-hour society does not help with the current prevalence of sleeping problems. In any urban economy, around 20% of the population is required to work outside the normal 0800-1700h working day which results to even more sleeping problems. To meet the demands of the economy, this percentage is likely to increase. Due to this though, the negative effects of insomnia should be taken into consideration more seriously. Imsomnia is a disorder that is affecting everyone, every day and in many ways.

Here are some sleep related sites that will be of interest to you. Thanks for visiting our Insomnia website.

BBC One - Insomnia
Smoking. Obesity. Insomnia. Bestselling Author and Television ...
Brief Behavioral Treatment of Insomnia in Military Veterans: Phase 1 ...
Seizures news photos and video - latimes.com
Insomnia Signs For Depression - YouTube
The Steep Price of Insomnia - CBS News