Loosing Sleep over Economic Crisis
It seems almost every conversation these days starts with people lamenting over the state of their stock portfolios. No matter what you’ve invested in, no matter how secure you believe your investments to be, you get weak in the knees when going to check on the current state of your 401k, or 503b, or 529 plan, or some other plan for saving money for the future.
Unfortunately, the Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology industries have not been immune to the collapse. Since this all began a couple of weeks ago, it seems that many companies have seen a downward trend in their publicly traded stocks. Schering-Plough (SGP) has seen its price drop from $18.08 on September 15th to $16.05 as of yesterday. Sanofi-Aventis (SNY) has dropped from $34.98 to $30.90 in the same time period. And even though Pfizer (PFE) seems to have traded relatively steadily over the same time period, it is trading in a range that its not seen since 1997. And biotechs like Celgene (CELG) and Genentech (GENZ) plummeted 7.5% and 7.9% yesterday alone.
All of this obviously induces stress and sleeplessness, and what could be takes the toll on the owners of small businesses. Never before have I wished so badly that I could go to sleep and wake up to find my portfolio back to its pre-crisis state. And you’d think a bunch of other bleary-eyed people would love to join me, if only insomnia would not rear its ugly head and keep these people awake.
And what about those who need that little extra something to help them to nod off? You may recall last year when I cited a Northwestern University study indicating that a lack of sleep has a cumulative negative effect on our bodies. Sanofi-Aventis’ Ambien and Sepracor’s Lunesta were two drugs I mentioned that help people transition from a waking state to a sleeping one. Though Lunesta has recently had some difficulties in a market becoming increasingly saturated with competitors (like Ambien and generic formulations of the same), they all seem to be viable sleep options for some people (provided you don’t use them as a cure for insomnia and a substitute for self-induced sleep; if that’s the case then you should see your doctor for other remedies).
Personally, I’ve found a good cup of warm chamomile or warm milk with a little bit of honey always helps to relax me. I’ve also read that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Visualization and Progressive Muscle Relaxation can act as powerful and natural tools for those who don’t wish to turn to drugs as the answer for sleep deprivation. Even a good book, after a couple of chapters, weighs my eyes and lulls me into sleep.
When one is stressed, as it seems is always the case for many people lately, it is clear that sleep is critical for keeping those stress levels at bay and keeping your mind as sharp as possible to face the challenges on the horizon. If you’re not sleeping, you should; your productivity suffers and in general you are likely to be less content. And though forcing yourself away from work, especially when you are in a groove, may seem like the worst thing you could do, the sleep you get in return will certainly make up for it.
What kinds of remedies do you use for getting yourself to sleep at night? Do you use any home remedies, take advantage of pharmaceutical sleep aids, or just stare at the wall?
I look forward to hearing your responses!
