Summer 2022 - 30

* 76% of military personnel reported not
getting the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep
* 60% of service members sleep fewer than
6 hours per night
* U.S. Military Academy reports cadets
average 5 hours of sleep per night during
Tacitcal Sleep by the Numbers
the week with interruptions
* During training exercises, service members
report less than 5 hours of sleep per night
* Studies show a 15-25% decrease in combat
effectiveness when soldiers get fewer than
four hours of sleep per night.
*Information provided by the March 2021 Pentagon report, Study on Effects of Sleep Deprivation
on Readiness of Members of the Armed Forces.
sleep environment to sleep in, and adopting
a bedtime routine). The manual recommends
service members take short, daytime naps
during the afternoon to help them reach seven
or eight hours of sleep over a 24-hour period.
The Department of Defense recommends that
when sleep deprivation is required for an operation,
soldiers take " tactical naps " of 20 minutes, followed
by caffeine. If they're aware of a mission ahead
of time, they should bank their sleep by sleeping
extra hours beforehand. Leaders are supposed to
provide quiet, restful sleep environments and enable
those under their command to receive eight hours
whenever possible.
CHALLENGES SOLDIERS FACE IN SLEEP
HYGIENE
* Circadian Rhythms - It's worth noting
that many service members join the
military during adolescence when the body
experiences a circadian shift. When teens
join the military after high school, they're
still operating on this delayed circadian
shift, even though they've now entered an
environment where 4:30 a.m. wake times
are normal, as is getting fewer than six hours
of sleep. Short sleep becomes normalized,
30 | Tactical Training & Conditioning | Summer 2022
even though it leads to negative health and
performance impacts.
* Poor Sleep Environments - Due to the
nature of their service, soldiers often have
to grab sleep whenever they can get it
and must fall asleep quickly even in loud,
uncomfortable environments. Even low
levels of noise during sleep can trigger a
stress response, alter sleep architecture, and
lower sleep quality - leading to daytime
sleepiness, mood changes, and poorer
cognitive performance.
Depending on their mission or duty, soldiers
may be exposed to additional factors that
impair sleep.
* Military Culture - A 2021 Department of
Defense report found that military members feel
that they can control how much sleep they need,
and tend to view needing sleep as " weak. "
The Department of Defense also approves
caffeine as an acceptable stimulant for
service members, who are more likely to
consume it in higher quantities during combat.
Problematically, soldiers may begin to overuse
caffeine, especially those who perform shift
work. As a result, they may have a harder time
falling asleep at night. n

Summer 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summer 2022