*One-Third of Americans Can't Get to Sleep
By Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
Tossing and turning for hours at a time and not being able to sleep has become increasingly common for many adults.
In recent years, sleep deprivation has become a critical problem with far-reaching implications for human health and well-being.
In the U.S. alone, one in three citizens suffers from insomnia, and globally, up to 45 percent of the population does.
Sleep loss, particularly deep -- or slow-wave -- sleep is linked to a long list of chronic health conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, anxiety, dementia, depression, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, and affects cognitive function, attention and decision-making, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. (NIH).
In addition to the detrimental effect on health, lack of sleep carries high economic costs, estimated at $680 billion a year in five OECD countries, of which only $400 billion is in the US, details in a report the non-profit research organization, Rand.
Sleep-related work absence is believed to account for the loss of 10 million hours of work per year in the U.S., or about 1.23 million workdays due to sleep deprivation.
The document also explains that sleep loss also affects productivity. According to an analysis using data from U.S. companies, the annual cost per employee is estimated at between $1,300 and $3,000, which increases health care costs for employers.
According to the Global Market Insights "Sleep Technology Devices Market Forecast Report 2020-2026," in the United States, the number of sleep-related technology patents has increased by an average of 12 percent per year over the past decade.
Such market forecasts indicate that the resulting influx of sleep devices could drive the global market to about $32 billion by 2026, up from $11 billion in 2019.
In recent years, the rise of smartwatches, fitness trackers and other wearable consumer devices has made it possible to remotely monitor sleep at scale.
The information from these devices is providing information that can be used to better understand sleep and find ways to counteract insomnia .
Sleep technology is now a growth industry attracting new entrants, from startups to tech giants, with interest from insurance companies, healthcare organizations, employers and policymakers.
Many of the new devices focus on monitoring sleep quality, movement and biological signals and therefore open up the possibility of accurately checking sleep for the first time.
As wearable devices become increasingly common, remote monitoring could become a useful tool for doctors seeking to develop a better understanding of sleep and find effective ways to treat its disorders, consulting firm McKinsey & Company said.
In that regard, Dr. Phyllis Zee, professor of neurology and director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told the consultant that "knowing the patterns of light exposure and sleep-wake activity of millions of people will help us better define what healthy or abnormal sleep really looks like."
However, Dr Colin Espie, professor of sleep medicine at Oxford University, also wanted more evidence. He pointed out that technology can have a detrimental effect, causing stress and making people sleep less well.
In addition, he said in an interview that people's complaints about sleep "don't necessarily coincide with the measures taken by the devices. The belief that a device is helping you manage a condition like hypertension or insomnia can distract you from seeking genuine clinical advice.
A recent report by consulting firm McKinsey details that some health tech companies are already using behavioral data to help people adopt better sleep habits. Behavioral data from sleep trackers, for example, can support techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that have been shown in clinical trials to be effective in treating insomnia and other sleep disorders.
He notes that CBT is traditionally provided on a one-to-one basis by specialists, so scaling up therapy to large populations is difficult. But research on new digital CBT interventions suggests that they can provide an effective and cost-effective treatment for insomnia.
One of the early adopters of remote sleep monitoring techniques, he said, is California-based health care company ResMed, which offers devices and digital health technologies to treat sleep apnea.
In addition, he explains that health insurance companies may accelerate the trend toward remote sleep monitoring as they realize its value. In cases of suspected sleep apnea, for example, most U.S. payers recommend an initial evaluation with an in-home sleep test before reimbursing an overnight stay at a sleep clinic. That approach saves the patient time and effort and reduces the costs associated with hospital screening.
He says that pharmaceutical, medical technology and wellness companies interested in expanding into sleep technology could improve their chances of success by adhering to some guiding principles.
"First, they could structure online and offline partnerships that take into account the entire patient journey for insomnia or sleep apnea, investigate diseases that have a sleep component, and add sleep-related services to disease-specific offerings. Second, they could create value with partners by integrating new commercial offerings - such as remote sleep monitoring or online diagnosis, adherence and treatment - into the existing core business. Third, they could create value for all ecosystem participants by providing consumers with 24/7 access to digital monitoring and diagnostics," the paper details.
According to sleep researchers and doctors, people can improve their own sleep by setting consistent bedtime and wake-up times, increasing exercise in the morning, reducing alcohol and caffeine intake, and eliminating exposure to blue light from screens for at least an hour before bedtime.
For employers, recommendations include recognizing the importance of sleep to workplace health and performance, providing access to amenities such as napping booths and fitness centers, and discouraging after-hours work.
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