305 Subjective sleep predicts Cadet performance during U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps Advanced Camp

Abstract

Introduction U.S. Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) Advanced Camp (AC) is a 29-day training that assesses military skills and leadership potential in college students training to become Commissioned Officers (i.e. Cadets). Military trainings are widely known to disrupt normative sleep. Additionally, operational sleep disruption is linked to performance decrements. This study examined the ability for objective and subjective sleep during ROTC AC to predict Cadet performance. Methods One hundred and fifty-nine ROTC Cadets (age 22.06±2.49 years; 76.1% male) wore an actiwatch device continuously for 29 days during AC. Paper surveys administered at the end of AC captured subjective sleep metrics during the training. ROTC instructors evaluated Cadet performance and provided scores of overall class rank and summary performance. Multiple and ordinal linear regressions assessed the predicative utility of subjective (sleep duration [SD]; Global score [Global] from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index) and objective (Total Sleep Time [TST]; Sleep Efficiency [SE]; Sleep Latency Onset [SOL]; Wake After Sleep Onset [WASO] from actigraphy) sleep on performance. Results The interaction of SD and Global, when controlling for age and gender, significantly predicted increased Cadet rank, F(4,153) = 3.09, p = 0.018. Models testing the prediction of SD and Global on summary performance score were non-significant. Further, regressing of both Cadet rank and summary performance individually on objective sleep metrics, when controlling for age and gender, resulted in non-significant findings. Conclusion Subjective and objective sleep showed no significant individual predictive utility on performance. However, the combined subjective model significantly predicted that Cadets who slept worse (lower SD; higher Global) during AC received a lower rank at the end of the training. These findings suggest there may be a unique combined predictive utility of subjective sleep on performance when compared to the predictive power of individual variables. Therefore, subjective sleep may be better for predicting operational performance than objective sleep. Future analyses will refine these models and examine how performance on individual AC events may be influenced by sleep. Support for this study came from the Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) of the United States Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC). Support (if any):