By the Numbers - Apr. 27, 2015
37%
The percentage of U.S. military members who "sleep the recommended seven to eight hours per night," according to a new RAND Corporation report -- Sleep Problems and Their Impact on U.S. Servicemembers. Moreover, 31% of the servicemembers in RAND's survey reported getting fewer than 5 hours of sleep a night -- "an amount linked to an increased risk of mental and physical health problems," according to the researchers. Additionally, "nearly half the sample had clinically significant poor sleep quality. (By way of comparison, the study noted that just 8% of the adult civilian population reported getting 5 or fewer hours of sleep per night.)
Deployment experience seemed to have no influence on military sleep quality or lack thereof, according to RAND:
Somewhat surprisingly, there were few statistically significant differences in sleep problems or sleep-related behaviors according to deployment history (that is, among service members who had previously deployed, were currently deployed, or had never deployed). Rather, sleep problems, including poor sleep quality, short sleep duration, and fatigue, were prevalent regardless of deployment history. This suggests that sleep problems may be endemic to military culture and not solely the result of being deployed.
See also: Sleep in the Military: Promoting Healthy Sleep Among U.S. Servicemembers
37%
The percentage of U.S. military members who "sleep the recommended seven to eight hours per night," according to a new RAND Corporation report -- Sleep Problems and Their Impact on U.S. Servicemembers. Moreover, 31% of the servicemembers in RAND's survey reported getting fewer than 5 hours of sleep a night -- "an amount linked to an increased risk of mental and physical health problems," according to the researchers. Additionally, "nearly half the sample had clinically significant poor sleep quality. (By way of comparison, the study noted that just 8% of the adult civilian population reported getting 5 or fewer hours of sleep per night.)
Deployment experience seemed to have no influence on military sleep quality or lack thereof, according to RAND:
Somewhat surprisingly, there were few statistically significant differences in sleep problems or sleep-related behaviors according to deployment history (that is, among service members who had previously deployed, were currently deployed, or had never deployed). Rather, sleep problems, including poor sleep quality, short sleep duration, and fatigue, were prevalent regardless of deployment history. This suggests that sleep problems may be endemic to military culture and not solely the result of being deployed.
See also: Sleep in the Military: Promoting Healthy Sleep Among U.S. Servicemembers