A recent survey in the United Kingdom of some five thousand randomly selected patients under the care of General Practitioners found that an initial 37% of respondents were affected by symptoms of insomnia. Twelve months after the first survey, a further 15% had developed problems with sleep. The data suggests that insomnia is closely associated with anxiety, depression and other conditions with chronic pain. It also seems more prevalent among older people. Ambien is one of the first resort medications.Libertarians almost certainly do not read Sleep, the official journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine - a publication guaranteed to send them to sleep when they least need it. In March, 2007, Ozminkowski led a team in a retrospective study to calculate the direct and indirect costs of untreated insomnia in the US. The sample was almost 140,000 younger adults who had been diagnosed with insomnia and 75,500 people who were aged 65 years. They were all members of self-insured health plans through their employment. Their medical claims before and after they developed insomnia were measured against a control group of matched individuals who did not develop insomnia. Over the same time, their employers supplied details of the indirect costs incurred through short-term illnesses and absenteeism.

The study found that the annualised costs per individual rose about $1,200 over the norm as the sampled people fell prey to insomnia. In part the costs rose because all the insurance plans paid for the ambien. About 94% received ambien or an equivalent medication. Thus, at the very least, all the other participants in the insurance plans were paying higher premiums. Equally, we customers have to pay higher prices if a proportion of employed staff are regularly ill or absent.

Because insomnia is so widespread and it costs us all money, self-interest says we should promote research into the cause. Although it is true that sufferers can and do use ambien and its equivalents to relieve the worst effects of sleeplessness, we need a better solution than a medication. Ambien is good in the short term but insomnia is not necessarily a short-term problem. Society should treat insomnia as a real medical condition and devote proper resources to relieving it. Simply relying on ambien should not enough even for a Libertarian.

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