Military Review English Edition January-February 2017 | Page 95
SLEEP BANKING
628 Army accidents and 32 deaths.10 Sleep loss results in
deficits that affect performance effectiveness and safety
in operational and nonoperational environments.
Sleep is a biological need, and it is critically important for soldier health. The lack of sleep and increasing
number of sleep disorders among service members is a
major public health concern. In 2014, up to 14 percent
of soldiers across the Army were diagnosed with a sleep
disorder.11 Those lacking sufficient sleep are more likely
to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension,
diabetes, depression, obesity, and cancer; they tend to
have a higher mortality rate, a lower quality of life, and
less overall productivity.12 Sleep—or the lack thereof—
amounts to being a health, safety, and readiness issue.
With readiness at stake, we can no longer ignore the fatigue of the force or allow cultural barriers to continue
to inhibit improvement of this larger public health issue. In Army organizations, losing is not an option; the
cost of poor performance is high, so mitigating the risks
associated with sleep loss and fatigue is imperative.
Cultural Barriers
Military culture historically does not place a priority on sleep. This is evident in a well-known Army
recruiting slogan: “We get more done by nine o’clock
than most people do all day.” We know that optimal
sleep is critical to mission success. Soldiers and leaders
associate poor sleep with impaired reaction time, poor
judgment, accidents, and low morale. However, despite
mission degradation, a cultural acceptance of suboptimal sleep and a perception that lack of sleep is the
“Army way” prevail in the force.13
The idea of allowing soldiers to optimize sleep,
report to work at 0900, and conduct physical training
in the afternoon for a seven- to ten-day period before
a training event would be quickly dismissed in many
circles in the Army. Yet, high-performing teams are
willing to change their cultures if a behavior is no longer productive. Having a supportive command climate
in the brigade, one that was open to change, was vital to
creating an opportunity for performance enhancement
and conducting the sleep
banking assessment. Once
Maj. Amy Thompson,
the command team was
U.S. Army, is the bribriefed on the science begade surgeon for the 1st
hind sleep banking, to inArmored Brigade Combat
clude discussion of other
Team, 1st Infantry Division.
MILITARY REVIEW January-February 2017
studies on sleep and performance such as the Harvard
Hospital study, the Stanford men’s basketball team sleep
extension study, the high schools delayed-start study,
and the Harvard Police study, the brigade commander
directed one of his subordinate units to support the
trial.14 Then, after gaining “buy in” from the highest level
of leadership, the subordinate commanders pushed the
initiative to the company and platoon levels.
Operationalizing Sleep Banking
Knowledge of the Performance Triad, the brigade’s
engagement in the Army Sleep Summit, and a brigade
command climate that empowered innovation combined to create momentum toward a sleep-banking
initiative. Encouraged by the brigade command team,
subordinate-unit leadership deliberately focused on
fighter-management improvement by operationalizing
sleep banking before gunnery in an infantry unit.
As a trial, 2nd Platoon, Company C (Charlie
Company), 3rd Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment,
was chosen to conduct sleep banking before a February
2016 field training exercise (FTX), during which the
unit would fire Gunnery Table (GT) VI.15 During
this FTX, soldiers would conduct twenty-four–hour
operations, sleeping when possible—many times in a
Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV)—and typically would
average three to five hours of sleep daily for seven
days, depending on leadership roles. The trial would
compare GT VI scores from an October 2015 FTX
to scores from the February 2016 FTX to determine if sleep banking affected gunnery performance.
Additionally, evaluators would receive subjective
feedback from the soldiers during the sleep-bank week
and during the sleep-restricted period to discover
further the effects of sleep banking on performance,
health, and wellness. The company commander scheduled time for the brigade medical team to educate the
platoon on the science behind sleep and the potential
benefits of sleep banking before the FTX.
Capt. Brad Jones,
U.S. Army, is the commander of Company C,
3rd Battalion, 66th Armor
Regiment, 1st Armored
Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Infantry Division.
Capt. Jordan Thornburg,
U.S. Army, is the physician
assistant for 3rd Battalion,
66th Armor Regiment, 1st
Armored Brigade Combat
Team, 1st Infantry Division.
93