The Cost of Insomnia in the US, in Dollars and Productivity

Lost sleep costs the average American worker 11.3 days, or $2,280, in lost productivity each year, and the total cost to the nation is $63.2 billion annually, a new study appearing in the journal Sleep says.

Researchers analyzed information about sleep habits and work performance from 7,428 workers who took part in the American Insomnia Study survey conducted by the Harvard Medical School.

Overall, about 23.2 percent of the participants had insomnia, characterized by a hard time falling or staying asleep. Insomnia rates were lower for workers age 65 and older (14.3 percent) and lower for working men (19.7 percent) than for working women (27.1 percent). Findings also showed that insomnia rates were 19.9 percent for those with less than a high school education and 21.5 percent for college graduates.

"Most people with insomnia still go to work when they’re tired,” says Robin Trupp, RN, PhD. “However, working while tired can lead to lost productivity, poor decision-making and other factors that hurt people and the organizations where they work.”

The cost of insomnia treatment ranges from about $200 a year for generic sleeping pills to as much as $1,200 for behavioral therapy, according to study co-author James K. Walsh, executive director and senior scientist at the Sleep Medicine and Research Center, St. Luke's Hospital, Chesterfield, Mo.