Here's a quick roundup of interesting sleep articles I've gathered:
Daylight Savings and Seasonal Affective Disorder - Sleep Review Magazine synopsizes an L.A. Times Article (viewable only upon registration) about how the change in Daylight Savings timing has affected some people with SAD. Apparently the delay in sunrise can trigger depression in people who suffer from SAD. Light therapy devices that help manage circadian rhythms seem to help.
70% of Doctors Have Sleep Disorders according to this article posted in PanAsianBiz. Apparently the problem is particularly severe in China.
Insomnia May Be Cheaper to Treat Than to Ignore according to this article by The National Academies. Says the article:
Untreated insomnia creates a “significant economic burden” through missed work and medical expenditures, according to a new study in the medical journal Sleep. Roughly 10 percent of the U.S. population is estimated to suffer from chronic insomnia.
The study concluded that insomnia costs employers roughly 4.4 days of wages per untreated individual over a period of six months, and this is just from the direct costs. The study did not look at the added impact of indirect costs such as accident rates or lost productivity. However, even taking only the direct costs into account, it appears that it would be cost-effective for businesses to motivate their employees to seek treatment early.
In addition, patients who were eventually diagnosed with insomnia tallied significantly higher medical expenses than people without insomnia, which also supports the argument for early formal treatment, to avoid unnecessary medical expenditures.
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