If good sleep improves physical performance, you could be forgiven for wondering why soldiers get so little of it.
The reasons we’re deprived of the ZZZs, let’s be honest, can sometimes be down to our bad decisions.
Early hours gaming, doom-scrolling, and nights on the lash can all mean insomnia is only ever a step away from Service life.
And that’s before the inevitability of being on stag or deploying leaves you even more bleary-eyed.
Talk to a certain generation of squaddie and you will often hear that ‘sleep is for the weak’ and anyone feeling tired should just ‘grizz it out.’
But a growing body of scientific evidence is showing that, in fact, sleep deprivation is not something you can just acclimatise to.
Scientists employed by the Army say that if leaders want to make the most of their soldiers, they must let them get as many of the recommended seven to nine hours per night (eight to ten for young adults) as they can.
And troops themselves need to take their sleep hygiene—or in other words, the stuff you do to prepare for a good night—seriously too.
“There’s this idea in the military that restrictive sleep can be used as an effective stressor,” says Dr Alex Rawcliffe from the Army Recruit Health and Performance Research team.
“And while that may have legitimacy in certain situations, there is no evidence to suggest any positive effects in training.”
The defence sleep medicine expert has been working with basic training establishments to investigate whether shutting off timetables earlier in the day allows recruits to get more shut-eye and, therefore, achieve better results.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but the findings are not what you might expect.
The study found factors such as noisy roommates, locker inspections, kit prep, and socialising still stopped many from getting their recommended hours even when days wound up earlier.
Recruits only got better sleep—and significantly fewer disciplinary actions too—when they were allowed to lie in longer in the mornings.
The study also found a mismatch between the bed and wake times set out in policy in JSP 822 (2200 and 0600), and what actually happens on the ground.
This suggests that as well as soldiers needing to make sleep a priority, their commanders must take it more seriously when planning lessons and morning feeding times.
“Sleep is critical to the health, wellbeing, and performance of recruits, yet its importance can be underappreciated,” Dr Rawcliffe adds.
One person who needs no convincing of this is Lt Col Benjamin Salt (Rifles)—CO of 2nd Infantry Training Battalion (2 ITB) and an advocate of sleep’s superpowers since changes were made to his team’s own training schedules.
When the officer arrived in post, the wastage rates on some Catterick courses had been as high as 45 per cent—a clear concern at a time of low recruitment.
But along with his leadership team, the boss is now steering his institution through something of a culture change.
“In the Infantry, we pride ourselves on mental resilience,” he tells Soldier. “So there is this idea with training that we just have to get through it.
“But we educated ourselves and have decided we must use the science that’s out there around human optimisation to get better outputs.”
A recent sleep hygiene trial with Dr Rawcliffe’s team and Parachute Regiment Training Company successfully reduced anxiety, stress, and fall-out rates, he explains. And it increased training performance too.
Another study with both the Para and Guards training companies has yet to be published, but Lt Col Salt is certain more shut-eye is a positive thing for recruit pass rates and, by default, the Service.
He and his staff are now working with human performance experts (more on them in a future issue) to rewrite the Infantry programme and put things like sleep, mental fitness, and nutrition front and centre.
“Sleep deprivation is not a trainable skill,” emphasises 2 ITB’s regimental sergeant major, WO1 Jamie Weaver (Para). “In fact, completely the opposite is true.
“We all need three things to survive—food, water, and sleep. So if you are training to survive, you must prepare your body with sleep.
“We talk about the body battery and how it needs to be recharged if you want to optimise performance.
“We have also spent time developing a sleep education package for all staff so they understand this, and enact it in their own lives and the recruits’ education.”
That’s not to say there aren’t times when leaders might want to use sleep deprivation with their personnel, the CO points out.
“But giving recruits so little sleep, then wondering why they aren’t learning, is not the right approach,” he adds.
“Some struggle academically anyway, then we are depriving them of the thing that aids learning.
“You can’t give someone three hours per night and then wonder what they’re achieving on day three—the answer is not very much.
“So when exercises are there to teach, we’ve been making sure there is time to sleep and recharge.
“And if the recruits are purposefully sleep-deprived, recovery processes are implemented to quickly recharge their human battery.
“Ultimately, this is about engendering good behaviours that will serve them for the rest of their careers.”
The importance of decent rest is already well appreciated among the Service’s sporting community.
Distance runner and Army Sportswoman of the Year Lt Kate Olding (Int Corps) says that a lack of it can affect her not just physically but mentally.
“If I’ve had a bad night it plays on my mind—I think the session won’t go to plan and I won’t be able to find the energy,” she says. “I start to think I can’t perform.
“My decision-making skills drop off when I’m tired as well.
“It impacts how rationally I think when things aren’t going as planned—if you’ve had sleep, it’s easier to be logical.”
The Servicewoman admits, however, that good sleep practices can be challenging to maintain in uniform.
“It’s something I have to work on,” she says. “I try to put my phone down earlier at night now, and look at something that isn’t a screen. That helps.
“Routine is a big one too. I aim to keep bedtimes as regular as possible, winding down by about 2200.”
If the outcome of good sleep is so stark for athletes, it doesn’t take a genius to see the difference it could make to someone making life-or-death decisions in the heat of battle.
“The evidence we have is that sleep deprivation has a negative impact on all aspects of health and performance,” Dr Rawcliffe concludes.
For most people in uniform, the early morning reveille has been the norm for years. But it seems if the Army wants to make the most of personnel on future operations, a wake-up call of a different kind is required.
Is lack of sleep making you...
FAT?
Poor sleep, be it acute or more long-term, influences eating and how we use energy stores. Leptin—the hormone that tells our brain when we’re full—drops when we’re denied enough ZZZs. And the sleep-deprived also report a greater desire to eat junk food or heavy starchy meals.
LESS FIT?
Testosterone is vital in developing and maintaining muscle mass for both men and women. But a recent study in Australia showed a 24 per cent reduction in this hormone among men after a period of sleep deprivation. Over time, this could contribute to a loss of muscle mass and functionality.
