How sleep can help maximize human potential: The role of leaders

Abstract

During multi-domain operations (MDO), soldiers need the physical supremacy, cognitive dominance, and emotional resilience to help defend and win our nation's wars. Optimal sleep has been shown to boost physical performance and cognitive processing. This manuscript will discuss how recent advances in sleep science strongly argue for the integration of sleep planning into military operations. Design: Review article. Methods: We reviewed the current understanding of how sleep affects Soldier readiness, how sleep and pain are interrelated, and unique challenges to obtaining adequate sleep in military training environments. We then address solutions that can be implemented by leaders and individuals to manage warfighter fatigue and optimize unit performance. Results: Since sleep is foundational to soldier health and readiness, improving warfighter fatigue management is a priority for leaders. Conclusion:To succeed in MDO, military personnel require physical supremacy, cognitive dominance, and emotional resilience to fight and win. Sleep science is a rapidly emerging field, and the clear implications for maximizing human performance argue strongly for more deliberate integration into military training and operations. Leaders that incorporate sleep and fatigue management into the planning and execution phases of operations will help facilitate mission priorities and prove a powerful force multiplier.

Steps toward developing a comprehensive fatigue monitoring and mitigation solution: perspectives from a cohort of United States Naval Surface Force officers

“…Individual characteristics, such as sleep quality and duration, military experience, or beliefs about the real-world impact of fatigue and the importance of managing it, could also compromise efforts to implement fatigue mitigation practices. For example, there is evidence that military officers who experience less fatigue as a result of good sleep habits encourage healthier sleep practices in their subordinates [ 26 ]. Therefore, the sleep quality of officers and the fatigue management strategies they implement may be related.…”

Sleep duration and perceptions of sleep quality in British Army recruits during basic training - an observational analysis

“…The negative implications of poor sleep on mental health ( 6 , 7 ), immune function and infection ( 8 ), physical adaptation and performance ( 9 ), injury risk ( 10 , 11 ), emotional regulation ( 12 ), cognitive and higher-order functioning ( 13 ), and job performance ( 14 ) are well established in civilians (both adult and adolescent) and military personnel. However, despite a growing awareness of the importance of sleep, military culture largely accepts sleep deprivation as a normal part of military training, with reports indicating that military leaders and, by extension, their subordinates perceive the need for sleep as a “weakness” ( 15 , 16 ) or as a means of “hardening” recruits as part of their socialization into the military ( 17 ). These actions are despite prior research demonstrating the importance of leadership’s role in subordinates’ sleep health, particularly recruits who include the youngest and least experienced members of the military ( 17 , 18 ).…”

The relationship between sleep, pain,and musculoskeletal injuries in US Army Soldiers

“…3 4 As a result, military leaders are encouraged to incorporate sleep and fatigue management into operation planning and execution. 5 Evidence from research in civilians suggests inadequate sleep in younger athletes 6 increases musculoskeletal injury risk; however, in adult athletes more studies are needed to establish whether this relationship exists. 7 Similarly, the potential link between sleep and musculoskeletal injury risk in military personnel is not well described.…”

“…Military personnel often report sleeping less than 7 hours per night (ie, inadequate sleep) throughout their careers,1 2 which can degrade physical and cognitive performance 3 4. As a result, military leaders are encouraged to incorporate sleep and fatigue management into operation planning and execution 5. Evidence from research in civilians suggests inadequate sleep in younger athletes6 increases musculoskeletal injury risk; however, in adult athletes more studies are needed to establish whether this relationship exists 7.…”