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The Role of Sleep in the Health and Resiliency of Military Personnel

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Sleep and Combat-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Abstract

Regular restorative sleep is an essential component in the maintenance of health and resiliency in military personnel. Profound negative consequences can result from sleep disruption and deprivation. Military service members face unique challenges to restful sleep, especially during deployment. The consequences of sleep deprivation on the functioning of the individual and, in turn, on his or her military unit can be catastrophic. Following deployment, continued sleep disturbance can complicate reintegration back into family, social, and work activities. How military service members and their families become resilient and positively adapt to or recover from the stressors of repeated and dangerous deployments is of great importance to military leaders seeking to optimize the health of the military forces. The role of sleep in psychological resiliency has not been widely considered; however, research suggests that sleep may play an essential role in developing and supporting resiliency. A model for psychological resilience patterned after Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is proposed. Gaps in our understanding of the role of sleep in the health and resiliency of military personnel are discussed.

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Acknowledgment

The original version of this material was published by the Research and Technology Organization, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (RTO/NATO) in Meeting Proceedings (Paper 26) RTO-MP-205 – “Mental Health and Well-Being Across the Military Spectrum,” Bergen, Norway, April 2011.

Funding for some of the research findings presented in this chapter was made possible through the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences TriService Military Nursing Research Grants Program.

Disclosure

The views expressed in this chapter are those of the authors and may not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the US Government.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army, Department of Psychiatry, Division of Behavioral Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Stacey Young-McCaughan

  2. University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, South Texas Veterans Health Care System, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA

    Alan L. Peterson

  3. U.S. Army, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

    Mona O. Bingham

Authors
  1. Stacey Young-McCaughan
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  2. Alan L. Peterson
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  3. Mona O. Bingham
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Correspondence to Stacey Young-McCaughan .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Eric Vermetten

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Anne Germain

  3. University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

    Thomas C. Neylan

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Young-McCaughan, S., Peterson, A.L., Bingham, M.O. (2018). The Role of Sleep in the Health and Resiliency of Military Personnel. In: Vermetten, E., Germain, A., Neylan, T. (eds) Sleep and Combat-Related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7148-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-7148-0_5

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