Diagnosing Sleep Issues In Military Members May Help With Mental Issues As Well

Members of the military oftentimes return with physical and/or mental health issues.

Now a new study looks at how improving both the quality and quantity of the U.S. military members' sleep following deployment can help to reduce the number of health issues that many may experience, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, etc.

"The U.S. military has shifted from combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan toward helping service members and veterans reintegrate into noncombat roles," Wendy Troxel, co-leader of the study and a behavioral scientist at RAND, said in a statement. "One issue that is often overlooked once military men and women return home is that of persistent sleep problems, because in many ways such problems are viewed as endemic to military culture."

For the study, researchers looked at the frequency of sleep disorders and factors that contribute to overall issues with military. They took a survey on close to 2,000 service members from many branches of U.S. military, showing how sleep problems held negative effects on mental health, as well as operational and daytime functioning, alike.

"Military policies on prevention of sleep problems are lacking, and medical policies focus on treating mental disorders that are often linked with sleep problems, instead of sleep itself," said Regina Shih, project co-leader and a senior social scientist at RAND. "We know that sleep problems may precede the onset of mental disorders."

Researchers believe that this study could be particularly important in diagnosing and treating some of the mental health problems, as seeking sleep treatment can be a start for some of those issues.