Although drinking alcohol can serve many purposes in everyday life, from social and to traditions, its connection with sleep often stems from underlying motivations: are we trying to cope to escape negative emotions, or are we directly seeking a shortcut to slumber? Unpacking these "whys" is essential for understanding risk-related usage patterns and their relationship with sleep health.
In this blog, Dr. Rogers reviews a congressional report on sleep deprivation from the Department of Defense (2021) and subsequent Government Accountability Office report published in 2024. The blog highlights an upcoming Sleep Summit that focuses on the issues raised by these reports, as well as ways to learn about and participate in the upcoming summit.
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.
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.