Abstract
Over the last three to four decades, it has been observed that the average total
number of hours of sleep obtained per night by normal individuals have
decreased. Concomitantly, global figures indicate that insufficient sleep is
associated with serious adverse health and social outcomes. Moreover,
insufficient sleep has been linked to seven of the fifteen leading causes of
death. Additionally, current evidence suggests that sleep plays a significant
role in determining cognitive performance and workplace productivity. There is a
great need for a systematic analysis of the economic impact of insufficient
sleep, particularly given current evidence that this phenomenon, as well as the
poor sleep hygiene practices which produce it, is increasing worldwide. This
paper takes the view that health authorities around the world need to raise the
general awareness of benefits of sleep. There is considerable scope for research
into both the public health impact as well as the macroeconomic consequences of
insufficient sleep syndrome (ISS). Additionally, various models which estimate
the undiagnosed burden of ISS on the GDP (gross domestic product) are needed to
prioritize health issues and to highlight the national policies that are
necessary to combat this medical problem. Sleep insufficiency has been declared
to be a ‘public health epidemic’; therefore, we propose ISS as a potential
noncommunicable disease. This review elaborates on this topic further, exploring
the causes and consequences of insufficient sleep, and thus providing a
perspective on the policies that are needed as well as the research that will be
required to support and justify these policies.