Over 32% of the US population struggle with sleep difficulty, while 22% have received clinical diagnoses for insomnia disorder. Insomnia alone can substantially impact organizations — employees with insomnia cost, on average, $6,412 more in healthcare spend1 and $3,098 more in lost productivity costs. Additionally, employees struggling with insomnia have a 7x greater risk of being involved in industrial accidents in the workplace.
And unfortunately, insomnia can increase employees’ likelihood of developing other costly diseases as well — known as comorbid conditions (conditions that occur at the same time).
Here, we’ll discuss some common insomnia-related comorbidities and key takeaways for employers interested in learning how to address employees’ conditions before they progress.
Depression
Depression is one of the most common comorbid conditions associated with insomnia — those with insomnia are 2.83x more likely to develop depression. Depression can lead to a hefty price tag for employers, with treatment costing anywhere from $6,000-$11,000 per year. Likewise, depression can result in psychological changes such as ruminating on problems and negative thoughts, which can lead to more sleep difficulties.
Substance use disorders
Those with insomnia are also 1.35x more likely to develop alcohol use disorders. In addition to concerns of lost productivity, absenteeism, and workplace absences and injuries, alcohol use can cost employers up to $10,000 annually per employee in healthcare costs.
Heart disease
Insomnia can have an impact on physical health as well. Those with insomnia are 6.4x more likely to develop heart disease risk factors. As the leading cause of death in the US, heart disease poses a serious threat to employee health outcomes. In addition, heart disease can drive costs of just under $20,000 per year per employee in health care costs.
Diabetes
Another disease that impacts millions of people in the US is diabetes. And, as you may already know, diabetes isn’t cheap — the condition can cost employers up to $10,000 a year in healthcare costs per employee. And, you guessed it — those with insomnia are 2.95x more likely to have diabetes.
Addressing poor sleep and insomnia early on is necessary
Given the alarming statistics above, it’s clear that insomnia and its many commonly occurring comorbid conditions have a massive impact on your workforce’s health. Unfortunately, these are only a few comorbid conditions associated with poor sleep.
Employers must prioritize addressing insomnia in their workforce before conditions escalate — for the sake of employees’ health, most importantly, and also because of the cost-saving potential.
That’s why Big Health delivers Sleepio, a clinical-grade digital insomnia treatment designed for remission. Sleepio teaches cognitive behavioral therapy techniques that allow employees to cope, manage, and overcome their sleep troubles or insomnia before they progress. In a clinical trial, 76% of participants experienced significant improvement in their insomnia using Sleepio. In another study, Sleepio improved depressive symptoms across various demographic groups.
By adding effective insomnia treatments to your toolkit, you can improve the physical and mental health of your organization so your workforce can focus on what matters most.
Contact us today if you’d like to speak more about adding Sleepio to your benefits package.
1. Internal Data. (2023).
Sleepio is available as an adjunct to usual medical care for insomnia disorder for adults ages 18 and older, without FDA review under their COVID-19 policy.
DOC-2694 Effective 04/2023
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Cost of mental health, Digital medicine, Mental health, Sleep, SleepioShare article
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