Sleep-deprived military puts lives, equipment in danger: Study

Most military personnel don’t get the recommended seven hours of sleep
Many report poor quality sleep regardless of the amount
GAO recommends record-keeping, closer oversight of fatigue issues

Updated: Mar 27, 2024 / 10:38 PM CDT

(NewsNation) — Not getting enough sleep can mean bad days at work, and probably lost production. But for the men and women of the U.S. military, the price can be lost lives.

That’s the conclusion of a new report from the General Accounting Office on service member fatigue.

“When service members don’t get enough sleep, it can affect their performance. Fatigue has led to fatal accidents and hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to ships, vehicles, and aircraft,” the report concludes.

It says impairment brought on by fatigue can be just like being drunk, and “significantly increase” the risk of injury.

The new GAO report takes its findings from nearly 130 fatigue-related research projects conducted from 2017 to 2023. It found that service members report sleeping six or fewer hours a night, even though the Department of Defense recommends seven or more hours each day.

The report recommends that all branches of the military keep records of future fatigue-related research projects, and that commanders be given the authority to deal with fatigue issues.