Sleep isn’t just a personal health issue for service members; it’s a mission-critical factor that affects unit cohesion, operational performance, and overall force readiness. Yet for years, military culture sent a different message. Pushing through exhaustion was worn like a badge of honor, and phrases like “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” were all too common. Sleep deprivation was seen as a sign of toughness rather than a threat to mission success. Thankfully, the conversation is shifting.
Most of us have struggled with getting enough sleep at some point, but when you compare sleep habits between civilians and service members, the difference is striking. While about a third of the general population reports not getting the recommended seven hours of sleep per night, the number jumps to more than 85% among service members.
For a long time, when it came to working with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) as a behavioral health provider, my understanding was that my role ended once I successfully referred the patient to a physician (either their primary care provider or a sleep medicine physician). I understood that OSA was a potentially dangerous condition that required a thorough assessment and medical intervention. At best, I could assist by screening the patient for OSA and getting them connected to treatment.
You're in bed. The lights are off, the world outside is quiet, but your mind refuses to wind down. You've done everything you're meant to do, hidden your phone, kept the room cool, perhaps even tried the deep breathing trick, but sleep simply won't come. Instead, your mind insistently keeps cycling through something that is already in the past: an awkward conversation, a missed opportunity, some annoying regret.
Determining Risks using Ecological Assessments of Mood, Sleep, & Suicide: An ecological momentary assessment of sleep effects in veterans with suicidal ideation, or DREAMSS, is a new pilot study led by Dr. Maegan Willing from the Center for Deployment Psychology. This study will explore how sleep quality impacts the thoughts and feelings of veterans who struggle with insomnia and suicidal thoughts. Using proven strategies, we will use mobile apps and Fitbits to monitor individuals sleep while collecting real-time data on thoughts and mood to uncover crucial insights for reducing the risk of suicide in veterans.
