A recent study has revealed that British Army recruits need up to 10 hours of sleep each day to handle the demands of boot camp and prevent misbehavior.
The research, conducted over several months, aimed to identify changes that could lower drop-out rates and help address the army’s workforce shortage.
Scientists studied the sleep patterns and behaviors of Parachute Regiment recruits, discovering that those who were allowed to sleep in longer performed better in tasks, absorbed information more effectively, and experienced fewer disciplinary issues.
The study also found that an extra hour of sleep helped reduce anxiety, stress, and drop-out rates.
“We all need three things to survive — food, water, and sleep. So if you are training to survive, you must prepare your body with sleep,” Warrant Officer Class One Jamie Weaver noted. “Giving recruits so little sleep, then wondering why they aren’t learning, is not the right approach.”
‘Tightly Controlled’
Nearly every aspect of basic military training is tightly controlled, with recruits often going to bed late and expected to wake up at 6 a.m.
Other factors, such as roommates chatting into the early hours, contribute to sleep deprivation.
This lack of sleep is seen as a key contributor to the high drop-out rate, with “up to 45 percent of recruits” leaving training before completion, according to a report by the Daily Mail.
“Some struggle academically, then we are depriving them of the thing that aids learning,” Weaver stressed. “You can’t give someone three hours per night then wonder what they are achieving on day three — the answer is not very much.”
An army spokesperson confirmed that the service is now exploring ways to incorporate the study’s findings to improve recruits’ health, performance, and well-being.
