Lack of sleep costing economy $21.4 billion or 80,000 workdays: StudyCellphones, long commutes, poor habits contributing to lower productivityBy John Dujay01/23/2017|Canadian HR Reporter|Last Updated: 01/31/2017 A lack of sleep is costing the Canadian economy dearly by taking a $21.4-billion or 1.35 per cent bite out of the GDP, according to a study — resulting in the loss of 80,000 workdays each year.But if more workers began sleeping at least six to seven hours at night, another $12 billion could be added to the economic output, found the year-long study by research firm RAND, based on a 2013 representative survey by the National Sleep Foundation in Washington, D.C., with numbers extrapolated for Canada.Workers averaging less than six hours of sleep have a 13 per cent greater chance of mortality risk over someone who gets between seven and nine hours of sleep, said the report. To Read the Full Story, Subscribe or Sign In Remember Me Forgot Password If you are a current Subscriber, please click here to set-up or update your login information.