0171 Assessment of Student Sleep and Well-Being During a Stress Inoculation Training at The U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officers School

Abstract

Introduction Military operations frequently take place in complex, volatile, and ambiguous environments, where important information may be uncertain. These circumstances are often highly stressful, and fatiguing due to sustained operations, shift work, sleep loss, and the taxing nature of the work. As a crucial part of their preparation for leading U.S. Navy sailors, prospective executive officers (PXOs) in the Surface Warfare community receive training at the Surface Warfare Schools Command (SWSC). At the request of SWSC, the NPS research team was asked to assess the stress loads of SWO students during their expanded 10-week training course, which included the implementation of a stress inoculation training (SIT) program. Methods SWOs (N=50) attending the Prospective Executive Officer (PXO) Course at SWSC participated in a quasi-experimental longitudinal study. They completed questionnaires three times during the PXO course: at the beginning of the study, at the mid-point, and at the end of the course. Standardized tools were used to assess perceived stress levels (Perceived Stress Scale – PSS), depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire – PHQ-8), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire – GAD-7), and mood (Profile of Mood States – POMS). Sleep attributes were assessed by wearable devices (ŌURA rings). Results Overall, the scores of SWOs on the PSS, PHQ-8, GAD-7, and POMS were lower or equivalent to scores reported for the general population. However, reported levels of perceived stress increased significantly from the beginning to the end of the PXO course (average PSS=9 vs 12). However, PHQ-8, GAD-7, and POMS scores remained stable across the three time points. On average, PXOs received 6.6 ± 0.65 hours of sleep per night on weeknights at SWSC, with about one additional hour of sleep on weekends. Conclusion These findings indicate that, while SWOs experienced an increase in perceived stress during the PXO course, their overall well-being is not substantively different from the general population. Participants appear to use weekends for additional restorative sleep, obtaining adequate amounts of sleep on weekends. We did not observe evidence of impairments in mental or physical wellness of SWOs attending the PXO course at SWSC. Support (if any)

A Longitudinal Assessment of Sleep in Surface Warfare Officers During Training and Fleet Assignments: Preliminary Results

“…After completing training at SWSC, SWOs are deployed into the Navy fleet where they lead teams of Sailors. Over the past five years, the Naval Postgraduate School's Crew Endurance Team has worked with SWSC to assess stress levels and improve the sleep of students, both of which can be expected to enhance resilience (Clifton, Matsangas, & Shattuck, 2020). Additionally, volunteers from the Prospective Executive Officers (PXO) course at SWSC have been issued personal wearable devices (Ōura rings) to measure their sleep/wake patterns and physiological status.…”