Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder in the world. And if you're among those who struggle to fall asleep and stay asleep, then you know that it's hard to get through the next day. The symptoms of insomnia are debilitating. And those symptoms—such as difficultly thinking clearly and maintaining concentration—have major costs in the aggregate.
Researchers at RAND and RAND Europe have studied this staggering economic toll. They estimate that those who experience chronic insomnia miss up to 18 workdays per year and spend even more days (up to 54) present at work but not fully productive.
This pulls down the U.S. economy by more than $200 billion every year. Other major economies also forgo tens of billions of dollars in lost productivity.
The good news is that there are effective treatments for insomnia. If more is done to recognize and address insomnia, then it could help tens of millions of people improve their well-being—and save the world tens of billions of dollars a year.
Many public defenders are overloaded with work. As a result, these attorneys are forced to prioritize some cases over others, may fail to fully investigate an issue, or may not be able to file the motions they should. This inevitably leads to harm. To address this, a new RAND report explores possible national workload standards by calculating the amount of time public defenders need to provide adequate representation in an array of adult criminal cases. Such standards can help ensure the justice system better serves all those who rely on it. Read more »
Central Asia—made up of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—is seldom a top priority for U.S. foreign policy. But according to RAND's Hunter Stoll, now may be a good time for Washington to make greater long-term investments and rebuild its reputation there. Central Asia's souring relations with Russia and growing skepticism of China have created a rare window of opportunity, he says. And while Russian and Chinese influence in the region will never go away entirely, the United States should take advantage to ensure that it doesn't “remain on the periphery.” Read more »
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China is reportedly using artificial intelligence to spread disinformation about the wildfires in Maui. RAND's William Marcellino, coauthor of a recent paper on dealing with this emerging threat, spoke to the New York Times.
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