The Army Tells Its Soldiers To Get Some Sleep.
|
“In the Army, we do more before 9 a.m. than most people do all day” is a standard bit of military bravado. It’s as much about the discipline instilled in soldiers as it is about the fact that their strenuous training takes place under less-than-ideal health conditions — like waking up before dawn to exercise, which can create a cycle of sleep deprivation.
That’s partly why 10 percent of active duty soldiers have a diagnosed sleep disorder, and almost half have a “clinically significant” sleep problem, according to a report the Army released last year. And fatigue was a contributing factor in 628 Army accidents and 32 soldier deaths between 2011 and 2014.
Now, the Army is trying to change its sleep culture with a wellness campaign called the Performance Triad, which is based on three pillars: nutrition, exercise and sleep. And since more sleep was predicted to be the toughest sell among senior leadership, it has taken center stage in the campaign. Five bases around the country have been conducting a year-long pilot study to try to improve soldiers’ sleep. As these trials end — all are due to wrap up by next month — the Army is figuring out how to channel its findings into recommendations for the entire military branch.
There’s An App For That
The five Army bases experimenting with sleep interventions are:
- Fort Bragg in North Carolina
- Fort Campbell in Kentucky
- Fort Carson in Colorado
- Fort Riley in Kansas
- Joint Base Lewis-McCord in Washington
Some soldiers at these five sites use Fitbits to track their sleep. They are allowed to do Physical Training — a tough, daily cardio and strength regimen — at 4 p.m. instead of at 6:30 a.m. And their nightly “bed checks,” when a sergeant inspects sleeping soldiers in barracks, have become quieter and earlier: Previously, an alarm would sound in each barrack while a sergeant went on these rounds, keeping soldiers awake for up to two hours. Now, the alarms are shorter and beds are checked all at once.
“The afternoon PT was a dramatic switch at first, since early-morning PT is the ‘Army way,’” Jordan Thornburg, battalion physician assistant at Fort Riley, told The Huffington Post. “But they quickly came to love it. Their morale was better, they were less irritable, and their performance went up. Which makes sense because waking up later is more in line with their natural circadian rhythms.”
Surprised to hear someone from the Army talking so casually about circadian rhythms, otherwise known as our “body clock”? Don’t be. The Army’s new regimen is grounded in cutting-edge sleep science.
That science is available to soldiers, and anyone else who wants it, through the Performance Triad smartphone app.
