Sleep-related health issues impact productivity, medical expense SAN CARLOS, Calif., July 31
SAN CARLOS, Calif., July 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. William Dement, founder of
the world's first sleep disorders center at Stanford University and a leading
authority on sleep medicine, spoke to Amgen employees in a wellness seminar
hosted at their South San Francisco campus on June 18. The presentation was
also distributed over Amgen's internal computer network and made available to
approximately 14,000 worldwide employees. Dr. Dement, who is Chief Scientific
Advisor for SleepQuest (http://www.sleepquest.com), a leading provider of home
sleep testing and treatment, discussed how poor sleep not only impacts the
health of individual employees but also directly hits the corporate bottom
line from decreased productivity, accidents, and increased health-care costs.
Dr. Dement focuses his presentations on demonstrating that sleep is just
as important as diet and exercise for overall health, a factor often
overlooked. "The main idea that I try to get across in these seminars is to
relate the way you feel to how you sleep," said Dr. Dement. "If you are
feeling drowsy and sluggish from a lack of restful sleep, that is a sign that
something could be dangerously wrong."
Amgen approached SleepQuest and Dr. Dement for this lunchtime seminar in
order to help improve employee productivity and reduce absenteeism expenses.
Sleep apnea and other sleep disorders are estimated to cost over $100 billion
annually in lost productivity, sick leave, medical expenditures, and related
issues.
"Since many employers are self-insured, decreasing the cost of health care
and keeping people working productively is very important to corporations,"
said Robert Koenigsberg, President/CEO, SleepQuest. "Presentations like these
help educate their employees on the importance of restorative sleep."
The understanding of how sleep affects our daily lives is coming into
greater focus. Stanford researchers have found that people with mild to
moderate sleep apnea scored as poorly on reactiontime tests as legally
intoxicated subjects. Studies show a link between inadequate sleep and
obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and depression.
The webinar presentation reached Amgen employees right at their desktops,
greatly broadening the number of possible viewers. Employees were also
encouraged to take an online sleep health questionnaire to identify possible
problems, and over 550 have participated.
It is SleepQuest's continuing mission to promote the crucial role that
sleep plays in optimal health. To request a SleepQuest wellness seminar for
your company call 800-813-8358, email contact@sleepquest.com, or visit
http://www.sleepquest.com.
SOURCE SleepQuest
