Study: Insomnia costs U.S. economy $42 billion a year

NEW YORK Insomnia costs the U.S. economy $42 billion a year, according to a report released Wednesday.

The report, sponsored by drug maker Sanofi-Aventis and the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, shows that many of the estimated 70 million cases of insomnia among Americans remain undiagnosed and untreated.

People with insomnia miss work twice as often as those without it and cost employers about 4.4 days of wages per untreated individual every six months. In some industries and professions, this can have particularly harmful effects: Professionals in training working in health care on recurring 24-hour shifts with little sleep make 36% more serious medical errors and as many as five times as many serious diagnostic errors than those limited to 16 hours.

“We should treat insomnia as it should be treated: a serious medical condition that has significant health and economic implications,” CMPI VP Robert Goldberg said. “Like other chronic diseases, insomnia has been managed according to the cost of treating patients instead of the cost the disease exacts on individuals, employers and society.”