Sleep and Academic Performance in U.S. Military Training and Education Programs

Abstract

ABSTRACT— This review examines the effects of military training regimes, which might include some degree of sleep deprivation, on sleep–wake schedules. We report a 4‐year longitudinal study of sleep patterns of cadets at the United States Military Academy and the consequences of an extension of sleep from 6 to 8 hr per night at the United States Navy’s Recruit Training Command. These studies provide an opportunity to observe sleep in a college‐age population and also to record sleep patterns over an entire 4‐year college experience, adding to our understanding of the changes in sleep patterns over the life span.