Posted on Nov 21, 2016
The Army has a sleep problem. Here’s how to fix it.
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A great piece by a couple of our own here on Rally Point discussing how the Army ignores the importance of sleep. Having just taught cadets about the Army Performance Triad, I remembered when I was a Company Commander and my Battalion Commander ordered me to get two hours of sleep during a CMTC rotation in Hohenfels, Germany. Ranger School is one thing, continuous operations is something different.
The Army has a sleep problem. Here’s how to fix it.
Posted from armytimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Leadership Development
Leadership Development
Posted 8 y ago
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That's all good and well, but there is another important component to this problem and it is not just a military problem, but a cultural/societal problem that seems to be especially rampant in the US. We live our lives jacked up, dialed to 11 trying to cram in more time into our 24 hour day. With 24/7 access to internet and entertainment media, people (troops and civilian) are staying up later and later and then medicating in the mornings with energy drinks and caffeine supplements.
Our diet is loaded with carbs and low-value foods which lead to metabolic imbalances and affect the sleep cycle and is exasperated by the the earlier-mentioned energy/caffeine boluses that we introduce into our body in a never-ending cycle. Eventually, our body does take over and forces sleep, and if you are lucky, this happens when you are off duty near a bed or cot and not while operating equipment or driving.
Personally, I wish the military became "real" about it's approach to what we put in our bodies and take more steps to, not only provide better nutrition, but enforce periods of no-distraction rest periods.
Our diet is loaded with carbs and low-value foods which lead to metabolic imbalances and affect the sleep cycle and is exasperated by the the earlier-mentioned energy/caffeine boluses that we introduce into our body in a never-ending cycle. Eventually, our body does take over and forces sleep, and if you are lucky, this happens when you are off duty near a bed or cot and not while operating equipment or driving.
Personally, I wish the military became "real" about it's approach to what we put in our bodies and take more steps to, not only provide better nutrition, but enforce periods of no-distraction rest periods.
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COL Jon Thompson
I would like to see the Army give more than lip service to sleep. Like many things that would be good, they say one thing and still disrupt sleep both in training and for missions. I am not sure what the answer is since the nature of our missions probably means a regular sleep schedule is not always possible But as you said, it is larger than the Army.
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