The economic costs and consequences of (insufficient) sleep: a case study from Latin America

Abstract

Sleep, an essential physiological process, has long been recognized for its critical role in human health and well-being.Beyond its biological significance, recent research has highlighted the intricate interplay between sleep and economicoutcomes. By constructing meticulous economic models that account for diverse factors and refining them based onempirical data and local characteristics, this study aims to provide an in-depth understanding of the significant economictoll stemming from inadequate sleep and its ramifications on various aspects of society. Here we calculated the effect ofinsufficient sleep on economic loss in Argentina, according to an Overlapping Generations (OLG) model that considersaverage sleeping length in terms of the recommended minimum and its effect on productivity and health outcomes. Weconsidered different scenarios in which the population sleeps from six to nine hours every night. Our results indicate thatif the whole adult population achieved the recommended sleep duration of at least 7 h/night, it would be associated witha 1.27% higher GDP compared to the baseline scenario, representing the most optimistic outcome. This equals about 3.7times the total annual budget in science, and is approximately the same percentage as the actually implemented nationalbudget for education. In summary, by bridging the usually distant realms of biology and economics, this study offers acomprehensive analysis that not only deepens our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these costs but also pro-vides potential avenues for intervention and policy-making.