Are prescription sleep meds for workers a good thing or a bad thing for employers? A little bit of both.

No doubt you’ve seen those TV ads for prescription sleep meds.

You know the ones: People sleep peacefully as a glowing butterfly floats overhead. Abe Lincoln playing chess with a groundhog.

Ever since the ads launched, use of these meds has skyrocketed.

The good news: Proper use of the meds can have its advantages for employers. When workers get enough sleep they’re more productive and energetic at work.

Costly concerns

The bad news: Unnecessary prescriptions appear to be on the rise — with employers getting clobbered by heavy costs on their health plans.

The cause? Employees with sleep disorders are heading to their primary care doctor and not a sleep specialist.

For people with legitimate sleep disorders (sleep apnea, restless-leg syndrome, etc.), there may be treatments out there other than “sleeping pills” that may help — and even eliminate any future need for costly prescription meds.

Meds as the last resort

The TV drug ads may give employees the impression that medication is the only — or the best — solution to their problem.

But many people can successfully combat sleepiness without meds.

Tell them to try these fixes first:

• cutting caffeine intake in the afternoon and at night
• reducing alcohol consumption
• exercising more — but not in the four hours prior to bedtime, and
• establishing — and sticking to — set sleep and wake-up times.

Tags: prescription, primary care doctor, sleep disorders, sleep specialist, sleeping pills