0215 Sleep Duration Associated with Degraded Performance in Marksmanship and Weapon Stability During a 72-Hour Mission Training Exercise

Abstract

Introduction Military operations require vigilance and performance under stressful conditions while functioning with little to no sleep. Previous links between marksmanship performance and sleep restrictions have been shown primarily in novice Soldier populations, with significant decrements in reaction time and decision making skills rather than lethality, mobility, or weapon handling metrics. Additionally, previous research has focused on isolated static marksmanship tasks in laboratory settings. The research presented here assessed the relationship between changes in Soldier sleep duration as measured by actigraphy, and marksmanship performance when conducting a 72-hour military field training exercise. Methods Forty-six volunteers [42 males (age 24.5±4.2y; mean±SD)] across three platoons participated in this assessment of Soldier performance during a company-wide mission exercise. Sleep characteristics were collected via actigraphy throughout the mission. Marksmanship performance was assessed during pre-, mid-, and post-mission, utilizing an operationally relevant course that integrated a static self-paced shooting task with a dynamic, fast-paced multiple target task. Marksmanship was assessed in areas of lethality (e.g. accuracy, shot dispersion), mobility (e.g. acquisition, engagement times), and weapon handling stability (e.g. movement of barrel during aiming). Results Analysis utilized a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) with platoon as the independent variable and total sleep time over the previous 24-hours as the covariant, during the mid-session assessment. The results indicated that prior sleep does significantly modulate marksmanship performance in areas of lethality and stability (ps