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“If you have an employee wellness program, most likely it targets lowering employee obesity and stress, as well as managing chronic conditions like high blood pressure. Do you know one thing that can improve all three of those health issues — which, by the way, cost millions in medical claims, absenteeism and lost productivity?”

“It’s sleep. More and better sleep,” according to Workforce.

“Neurological research shows that sleeplessness reduces our brains’ “high order” powers that lead us to make more discerning decisions in our own best inteRetiree health care chart 1 November 2013rest, but also increases our brains’ more primitive responses. This combination of brain activities can lead to poor food choices. In addition, inadequate sleep can spike the secretion of ghrelin, a hormone that increases appetite, and lower leptin, one that tells the body it’s satiated.”

“Second, a Stanford University stress expert has concludedthat the same brain chemical that brings on deep sleep is the same one that tells the pituitary gland to slow the brain’s stress hormones. Thus, stress hormone output remains high, and sleep deprivation results. In addition, similar research shows that sleep deprivation increases the output of stress hormones, which makes good sleep harder to come by.”

“Then, according to Mayo Clinic, people who sleep five hours or less a night may be at a higher risk of developing high blood pressure or worsening already high blood pressure.”