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Is insomnia ruining your work life?
Insomnia is the second most common cause of absenteeism from work after motherhood. Are you stuck in the vicious circle of sleeplessness?If it takes a cold shower and five cups of coffee just to drag you out of the front door in the mornings, the odds are your work will suffer as a result.
Insomnia is defined as a lack of sleep in quality or quantity. Women, older people and those living alone tend to suffer from it most. In the UK, insomnia is the second most common cause of absenteeism from work after motherhood.
Those who do make it to work without a good night's rest are normally less productive than their fresh-faced workmates, and therefore less likely to be promoted. A 1994 study into the effects of insomnia in the workplace found that absenteeism and accidents caused by lack of sleep cost the US economy between $92 and $107.5 billion a year. In the UK that figure was estimated at between £10 and £12 billion.
There are various factors that contribute to insomnia including long working hours, stress and irregular shift patterns. One in three British adults will suffer from lack of sleep at some point in their working lives. For others, irregular sleep patterns or sustained periods without sleep will lead to chronic insomnia.
Long and irregular working hours
Elisabeth Mullan, 28, works for an advertising company in London. She suffered from insomnia until recently. 'My job requires flexibility, which basically means that I have to be at work for as long as it takes to get the job done. I always get to the office for 9am but some nights I won't get home until midnight. It's very difficult to establish a regular sleep pattern that way and I realised it was affecting my work in the long term and probably my chances of getting promoted. Some days I was falling asleep at my desk at three in the afternoon.'
Elisabeth turned to meditation and exercise to combat her insomnia. 'I read an article by Sally Brampton, the editor of Red magazine in which she talked about her insomnia and how she had taken up transcendental meditation. I started working out and meditating and found that I was more productive at work. As a result, I was able to get my work done in time to get home and have a good night's sleep. I'm pretty much back to normal now.'
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