Vidya Balan has been picked to be the brand ambassador for sleep awareness month this March. This month, people will be made aware on the sensitivity of sleep disorders through the various symptoms which are normally taken for granted. Sleep disorders are increasingly becoming rampant among Indians leading to a call for more regular checkups.

The sleep awareness month will see Indian Sleep Disorders Association (ISDA) and pharmaceutical company Abbott India organize various awareness programs, including camps, with healthcare professionals who are experts in the field of insomnia and other sleep-related issues in metros and smaller cities across India.

(Source) India Times

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As far as Insomnia cases are concerned, it is bad enough to have to deal with them while ensuring our health. But if you look a bit farther, you may be surprised that Insomnia adds to the burden of medical costs and losing from professional practice since it hinders our natural routines to carry out our lives.

One research aims to justify all this. The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest (CMPI), has released a report showing the lag in the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia translates to billions of dollars in lost productivity and absenteeism in the American workforce. CMPI also estimates insomnia is responsible for at least $42 billion in direct and indirect healthcare costs each year.

Among the findings include:

• People with insomnia miss work twice as much as those who do not suffer from the condition.
• Insomnia costs employers about 4.4 days of wages per untreated individual over a six-month period, not including money spent on indirect costs, such as lost productivity and costs to treat the medical consequences of insomnia.
• Healthcare professionals-in-training who work recurring 24-hour shifts with little sleep have been found to make 36% more serious medical errors and five times as many serious diagnostic errors than those whose work is limited to 16 consecutive hours.

But here are some course of action that many may find interesting as far as managing Insomnia is concerned.

• Assemble a coalition of mainstream media, social media, and an array of private, corporate, and government partners to raise public awareness of the serious impact insomnia has on public health and the American economy.
• Identify pathways for diagnosing and treating insomnia.
• Execute targeted outreach to patients and health care providers based on specific criteria that reflect the latest findings in genetics, clinical research and outcomes data. Patients need to be able to identify and communicate insomnia symptoms and health care providers must be primed to identify patient complaints that indicate insomnia as well as be well-versed in available solutions.
• Educate media, healthcare insurers, and employers about their roles in spreading awareness, improving care, and helping to move to a value-based treatment approach.
• Encourage health plans and employers to design wellness programs that integrate insomnia management.

So for people who think Insomnia is plainly about not sleeping, guess again. It has victimized us more than ever and if treated improperly, we are losing more than just sleep.

This study is not affiliated with Sleepzine.

(Source) Press

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