Getting enough sleep is important, especially when a country’s national security depends on it. A new study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the majority of U.S. service members surveyed reported less than 6 hours a night, despite the Department of Defense’s recommended minimum of 7 hours a night.
The new data shows a lack of sleep is also dangerous. The survey found that fatigue led to deadly accidents and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages to ships, vehicles and aircraft.
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Survey respondents described how sleep issues impacted their work as well. One respondent said that a lack of sleep caused them to nearly collide with another aircraft and one reported falling asleep on the job.
While some of the problems were physical, others were mental.
“I could kill someone because I’m not getting the right sleep,” one anonymous responder said.
The right sleep is important too. Roughly half of the study’s respondents reported poor sleep, even if they did achieve the recommended hours.
In total, the GAO offered nine recommendations for the Department of Defense to implement. One of the recommendations was for the DOD to take steps to address fatigue-related issues, like creating guidance on fatigue management. Researchers also said that the DOD needs better oversight and collaboration when it comes to tackling fatigue in its ranks.
In addition, the study recommends fatigue-related oversight structure and a list of all related research projects to help the DOD learn about the impact of fatigue on service members and operations. The GAO said implementing new policies that help reduce fatigue could save lives and money for the DOD.
The GAO study looked into health data from 2005 to 2018, and interviewed pilots, aviation maintenance workers and missileers.
Tags: Air Force, Department of Defense, Government Accountability Office, Health, Marine Corps, Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. military
[LAUREN TAYLOR]
WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL DEFENSE YOU WANT PEOPLE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAME.
BEING AT THE TOP OF YOUR GAME ALSO MEANS GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP.
SO, WHAT IF WE WERE TO TELL YOU MOST U-S TROOPS AREN’T GETTING ENOUGH Z’S?
BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT, ACCORDING TO A NEW GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE STUDY.
DATA REVEALS MOST SERVICE MEMBERS GET SIX OR FEWER HOURS OF SHUT-EYE A NIGHT.
THAT’S LESS THAN THE SEVEN HOUR MINIMUM RECOMMEND BY THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT.
IT’S FLAT OUT DANGEROUS TOO.
THE SURVEY FOUND FATIGUE LED TO DEADLY ACCIDENTS AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN DAMAGES IN SHIPS, VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT.
RESPONDENTS DESCRIBED HOW SLEEP ISSUES IMPACT THEIR WORK…
FROM NEARLY COLLIDING WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT TO DOZING OFF AT THE JOB.
AND NOT TO MENTION THE MENTAL TOLL.
ONE ANONYMOUS SERVICE MEMBER SURVEYED TOLD INTERVIEWERS
I COULD KILL SOMEONE… BECAUSE I’M NOT GETTING THE RIGHT SLEEP.
THE RIGHT SLEEP IS IMPORTANT TOO.
ROUGHLY HALF OF RESPONDENTS REPORTED POOR SLEEP, EVEN IF THEY DID ACHIEVE THE RECOMMENDED HOURS.
SO, WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
WELL, THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SAYS THEY’RE TAKING STEPS TO ADDRESS “FATIGUE-RELATED ISSUES,” LIKE CREATING GUIDANCE ON FATIGUE MANAGEMENT.
STILL, RESEARCHERS SAY THE DOD NEEDS BETTER OVERSIGHT AND COLLABORATION WHEN IT COMES TO TACKLING FATIGUE WITHIN THEIR RANKS.
THE STUDY RECOMMENDS FATIGUE-RELATED OVERSIGHT STRUCTURE, AND A LIST OF ALL RELATED RESEARCH PROJECTS TO HELP THE DEPARTMENT LEARN ABOUT THE IMPACT OF FATIGUE ON SERVICE MEMBERS, AND OPERATIONS.
THE GAO SAYS IMPLEMENTING POLICIES THAT REDUCE FATIGUE COULD SAVE LIVES AND MONEY.
THE GOVERNMENT WATCHDOG LOOKED INTO HEALTH DATA FROM 2005-TO-2018.
THEY INTERVIEWED PILOTS, AVIATION MAINTENANCE WORKERS, AND MISSILEERS.
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