Treatment of Sleep Disturbances in Military Personnel: The Potential to Improve Other Service-Related Illnesses

Treatment of Sleep Disturbances in Military Personnel: The Potential to Improve Other Service-Related Illnesses

Recent studies demonstrate the integral nature of disturbed sleep in the symptoms and disorders of military personnel [1,2]. Sleep disturbances are not only an associated symptom of the servicerelated disorders of traumatic brain injury (TBI), depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) but an inherent part of the military life-style [3]. Short, irregular sleep occurs in non-deployed military personnel and even more so in deployed military personnel [4,5]. For the most part, “sleep disturbances” are considered a result of deployment or service-related disorders, such as depression, pain, PTSD and TBI. Only recently are the sleep disorders of military personnel recognized as distinct diagnoses [6,7].