New Report Shows Sleep Loss is Problem for Combat Troops

Stars and Stripes recently published results from a recent Army mental health report that indicates combat troops in Afghanistan suffer from high rates of sleep deprivation.

The reasons behind the lack of sleep? Not entirely what you’d think.  Ten percent of soldiers and 15 percent of Marines reported sleep problems over a 30-day period because of combat stress. Another 5 percent reported sleep problems due to video gaming and movie watching. About 30 percent of soldiers indicated that night patrols together with hot, loud daytime sleeping conditions were the biggest source of trouble.

Army Surgeon General Eric Schoomaker said that they are beginning to realize that sleep loss might combine with other physical or psychological harms—such as the exposure to combat violence—to make the situation worse.

Adults should be getting about eight hours of sleep each night. Previous mental health surveys show soldiers and Marines are chronically sleep deprived and don’t come close to getting the recommended number of sleep hours.

Unit commanders are being encouraged to look for ways to help soldiers get the sleep they need. And, the Army is now studying how much soldiers really are sleeping.

The article doesn’t mention soldiers dealing with sleep apnea, but the sleep disorder is likely to be a factor in sleep deprivation among our troops. We’ll watch as more information becomes available.

In the meantime, our thoughts go out to U.S. troops.

Read more at Stars and Stripes.