In a recent study, researchers from the RAND Corporation found that improving the sleep quantity and quality of military personnel post-deployment may have a hand in reducing health problems, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The U.S. military has shifted some of its focus from combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq to helping veterans and service members reintegrate into society and fulfill noncombat roles. In spite of these efforts, there is a lack of transparent and consistent policies related to sleep — which may get in the way of promoting sleep health in service members.
"One issue that is often overlooked once military men and women return home is that of persistent sleep problems," said Wendy Troxel, a behavioral scientist with RAND and co-lead author of the study.
Disturbances in sleep are a common stress reaction, often linked to a number of physical and mental problems. Sleep problems, unfortunately, have the tendency to be chronic, persisting long after a service member returns home from deployment. According to the researchers, that can negatively affect reintegration.
Regina Shih, a senior social scientist and project co-leader from RAND, said that there aren't enough military policies addressing sleep problems to prevent their onset in first place. Instead, the medical policies in place focus on addressing mental problems often associated with sleep problems but not sleep itself.
"We know that sleep problems precede the onset of mental disorders," added Shih.
The RAND study is the first comprehensive review assessing sleep-related programs and policies in the U.S. Department of Defense, figuring out how often sleep disorders happen and what factors contribute to their occurrence.
Almost 2,000 service members were surveyed across all the branches of the military, and results show that sleep problems have an adverse impact on mental health, perceived operational readiness and daytime functioning.
In response to these findings, the researchers presented 16 recommendations for policies to aid the military in better prevention, identification and treatment of sleep problems in its service members. The recommendations fall under four categories: ways to improve sleep during operations and training; ways to deal with sleep disorders clinically and promote better sleep health; improved sleep problem identification and diagnosis; and the prevention of sleeping problems.
The study received support from the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury and was conducted in RAND's Forces and Resources Policy Center. Paul Steinberg, Jeremy Kurz, Ann Haas, Beth Ann Griffin, Michael Fisher, Lily Geyer and Eric Pedersen also contributed to the study.
Photo: Kiran Foster | Flickr
