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The Impact of Sleep on Soldier Performance

  • Military Mental Health (CH Warner, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The military population is particularly vulnerable to a multitude of sleep-related disorders owing to the type of work performed by active duty servicemembers (ADSMs). Inadequate sleep, due to insufficient quantity or quality, is increasingly recognized as a public health concern. Traditionally, ADSMs have been encouraged that they can adapt to insufficient sleep just as the body adapts to physical training, but there is a substantial body of scientific literature which argues that this is not possible. Additionally, the military work environment creates unique challenges with respect to treatment options for common sleep disorders like obstructive sleep apnea, restless legs syndrome, and parasomnias. This review highlights sleep disorders which are prevalent in the modern military force and discusses the impact of poor sleep on overall performance. Medical treatments and recommendations for unit leaders are also discussed.

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Conflict of Interest

Scott G. Williams, Jacob Collen, Christopher J. Lettieri, and Vincent Mysliwiec declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Emerson Wickwire is a shareholder in an educational and health care consulting firm. His participation in this review is voluntary and uncompensated.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the United States Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Womack Army Medical Center, 2817 Reilly Rd, Fort Bragg, NC, USA

    Scott G. Williams

  2. Department of Medicine, Uniformed Services University, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Scott G. Williams, Jacob Collen & Christopher J. Lettieri

  3. Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, San Antonio Military Medical Center, Fort Sam Houston, TX, USA

    Jacob Collen

  4. Howard County Center for Lung and Sleep Medicine, Columbia, MD, USA

    Emerson Wickwire

  5. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Emerson Wickwire

  6. Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Christopher J. Lettieri

  7. Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Tacoma, WA, USA

    Vincent Mysliwiec

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  1. Scott G. Williams
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  2. Jacob Collen
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Correspondence to Scott G. Williams.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Military Mental Health

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Williams, S.G., Collen, J., Wickwire, E. et al. The Impact of Sleep on Soldier Performance. Curr Psychiatry Rep 16, 459 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0459-7

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