Sleeping rich? Well... not necessarily

A study by SEO Economisch Onderzoek, with the rather dull title "Slapend Rijk" (Sleeping Rich), has been receiving a lot of media attention today. According to the report, people with serious sleep problems are more likely to face unemployment, sick leave, and income loss. They are also more prone to mental health issues. The price tag for society? A whopping three billion euros per year in lost productivity.

I believe this to some extent...

I myself went through a period where I slept poorly for years - real insomnia. And during that time, I quickly advanced in my career and earned more money than ever before. I was never sick. Though I could be quite grumpy, I’ll admit that. But apparently, I was still functioning just fine. And of course, I’m just one person. This study is based on data from 14,000 Dutch people with insomnia, so you’d think it’s representative.

However, there are a few points worth questioning...

To diagnose insomnia, the researchers only looked at people who had an official diagnosis from their GP. But what if, like I did back then, you never went to the doctor for sleep issues? Then you wouldn’t be included in the statistics. Maybe you're actually part of the group that, despite sleeping poorly, just keeps going.

Another key point: what came first, the chicken or the egg? Do you sleep poorly because you have a job that exhausts you? Or do you work worse because you can’t sleep? The study tries to separate these directions but doesn’t rule them out. And that makes the numbers difficult to interpret.

The effects they found are relatively limited. The likelihood of having a job decreases by 2.5 percentage points. That’s quite different from widespread disability. Yet, they hang an enormous 3 billion euro price tag on productivity loss. There’s a lack of nuance here. You’d almost think that if we all just slept a little better, we could fix the hole in the national budget.

What I do agree with, though, is the solution the report suggests: go see a psychologist or sleep coach instead of reaching for a sleeping pill. Sleep problems can often be effectively treated with cognitive behavioral therapy or sleep coaching.

In short: interesting study, but take the results with a grain of salt. And if you’re not sleeping well, don’t write off your career just yet.