The Sleepless Syndrome

Profits and productivity throughout Michigan and across America are being challenged like never before as longer hours and more demanding schedules compete with a good night’s sleep

By Alan Fisk

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Illustration by Cathy Gendron

Gene Gilmore is a superstar insurance agent. Based in the Grand Rapids area, he has sold more than $1 billion worth of life-insurance policies for one company alone, he says, and he’s considered one of the nation’s top senior agents. He also owns and runs a 300-acre horse farm in Michigan and has traveled all over Europe and South America on his motorcycle, with his wife behind him. Imagine what he could do if he could stay awake.

“I’ve come awful close to car accidents — but for the grace of God,” he says, recalling occasions when he’s drifted off at the wheel. “I’ve [also] fallen asleep when I’ve been making presentations to clients.”

Gilmore is one of an estimated 70 million Americans who have sleep-related problems — either just not getting enough sleep each night or suffering from serious physical problems tied to sleep. Government and some business entities are at long last beginning to realize the financial magnitude of these sleep problems, and they’re recognizing the need to deal with them. The problem may be even more acute in Michigan, given the state’s challenged economy and high number of shift workers, especially in the automotive industry.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, insufficient sleep and sleep disorders are associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions — such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression — which threaten the nation’s health. Moreover, insufficient sleep is responsible for many truck, auto, and machinery-related accidents, causing substantial injury and disability each year, plus untold mistakes in offices and factories that damage productivity.

The CDC recently surveyed some 20,000 adults in four states. Ten percent of the respondents indicated they didn’t get enough sleep or rest every single day of the prior month, and 38 percent said they didn’t get enough rest or sleep in seven or more days in the prior month.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health estimates that sleep disorders, sleep deprivation, and excessive daytime sleepiness cost employers $50 billion a year in lost productivity. American employers are also facing higher health-care costs due to workers’ sleep disorders. Yet medical experts believe that most companies don’t know what to do about sleep-related problems, with some managers thinking that sleep-deprived employees are slackers.

One example of the growing cost: “Life-insurance companies charge double the premium” for people with sleep apnea, says Gilmore, who’s being treated for both apnea, which causes people to wake up choking for air, and narcolepsy, which causes people to fall asleep at any moment.

Darrel Drobnich, acting CEO of the National Sleep Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., that promotes greater understanding of sleep and sleep disorders, says studies show people with sleep apnea use the health-care system three times more than normal.

Gilmore says he’s had sleep problems since high school, “but back then they just considered you lazy,” he recalls. “I’d fall asleep in class. In college, I couldn’t stay awake.” When he was drafted into the Army during the Korean War, “I’d fall asleep marching.”

But as an insurance agent, “I can control my own environment,” Gilmore says. “I couldn’t sit through lots of corporate meetings; I’d fall asleep.” In addition to medical treatment, Gilmore’s secret for coping is simple: Take short naps. “In today’s corporate world, napping is a no-no. But it’s very common in other countries,” he says.

Researching and diagnosing sleep problems is a relatively new field in medicine, less than 50 years old, says Dr. Flavia Consens, associate director of the University of Michigan Sleep Disorders Center in Ann Arbor. “The first sleep apnea was only diagnosed in 1965,” she says. Most Americans aren’t sleeping enough at night, Consens adds. “If you have something to do — study for an exam, or an office presentation — the first thing you cut is sleep.”

Sleep deprivation can also lead to driving while drowsy. According to the 2008 Sleep In America Poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation, 32 percent of Americans have driven while feeling drowsy at least once a month in the last year, and 36 percent admit to actually having fallen asleep at the wheel in the last year. However, many people can’t tell if or when they’re about to fall asleep. And if sleepiness comes on while driving, many people say to themselves, “I can handle this; I’ll be fine.”

But they’re putting themselves and others in danger. What they really need is a nap or a good night’s sleep. The sleep problem is particularly acute for shift workers such as police officers, medical interns, and factory employees, who often don’t work the traditional 9-to-5 day and who are constantly battling the natural sleep rhythms of their bodies. “Lots of medical errors are caused by fatigue from lack of sleep on long shifts” in hospitals, Consens says.

Experts say most Americans get just 6 to 6.5 hours of sleep a night, although 7 to 9 hours is recommended. But the estimated 15 million shift workers average just 5 to 5.5 hours a night, Drobnich says. And as Michigan is the nation’s top light-vehicle assembler, the problem here is very likely more profound.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, extended or unusual work shifts may be more stressful physically, mentally, and emotionally. Such uneven work patterns can disrupt the body’s regular schedule, leading to increased fatigue, stress, and lack of concentration. So it’s not surprising that such effects can lead to an increased risk for errors, injuries, and accidents. In turn, because the American work ethic is oriented toward traditional daytime hours, working at night may intensify fatigue and reduce alertness. Studies suggest that it can take up to 10 days to adapt to a nighttime work schedule.

As a new field of medicine, there isn’t much support from industry for research on sleep problems, Consens says. “It’s a matter of money vs. health. But untreated sleep problems cause more hypertension, heart attacks, and diabetes. You pay through higher insurance.”

Southeast Michigan, with its high concentration of manufacturers, is more susceptible to sleep-related problems. “Detroit is an area where shift-work impact is pronounced” because of the auto industry and its suppliers, says Dr. Gary Richardson, senior research scientist at the Henry Ford Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. “Some 15 percent of the shift workforce nationwide is tied to the auto industry. Plus, in Detroit, [people work the same or varying] shifts all their lives. So sleep problems are a major impediment to productivity.”