Is It Difficult For Military Personnel To Sleep?

For military personnel, it can be hard getting enough hours of sleep. When this is combined with the stressful nature of deployments, training, jetlag from frequent travels, and the wider military culture, the general problem becomes bigger. It’s estimated that 60% of military personnel get less than 6 hours of sleep every day. Military personnel who are deployed on combat or other sensitive missions sleep for less than 5 hours every night. The number of hours that they sleep is much below the 7 hours that an adult requires every night.

Sleep hours when under deployment

When on a serious deployment, average military personnel sleeps 5.8 hours every night. More of those who have experienced combat are getting fewer sleep hours than others. Naps are hard to come by. For air force service members, many of them sleep not more than 4.5 hours every day while for those in the Navy, sleep time averages less than 7 hours.

Sleep when training

During training, military service members have fewer than 5 hours to sleep every night. These five hours are split into small batches or multiple episodes that last less than 2 hours each. In some instances, military cadets are woken up in the middle of their sleep for training and they rarely get enough time to sleep for the entire duration of their training. During the weekends, they are more encouraged to get enough sleep, and in most instances, they get less than 7 hours. Those who are in the ranger’s school would get an average of 3 hours every night.

For how many hours should a soldier sleep?

There is no difference between soldiers and every other person, and require enough amount of sleep. Seven to nine hours of sleep is enough, and people whose lifestyles are more demanding may even require more sleeping time. Lack of sleep affects performance and military personnel who get fewer than 4 hours of sleep every night become less effective at work. Even when they go to combat, their ability to fight effectively is reduced. For military personnel who don’t sleep for longer while on training, the amount of testosterone gets reduced and the ability of their bodies to repair muscles and to recover is stretched.

Recommendations regarding sleep by military personnel

Sleeping at least 7 hours every day is recommended, but 4 hours on the minimum is okay during field training. However, when preparing for combat, there are times when it’s hard for anyone to sleep. However; soldiers should get enough sleep of up to 9 hours ahead of the scheduled time.With more sleep, soldiers become alert and their performance is improved. Also, napping has many amazing benefits, especially when contributing to the overall performance of the military unit.

Why good sleeping environment matters

Military personnel needs to get maximum sleep within the short time that they are privileged to have. Whether they are on training or preparing for combat, sleeping on navy rack sheets helps them catch sleep faster and enjoy high-quality sleep for longer without interruptions.