Key result
Overnight military training with sleep deprivation significantly impaired psychomotor vigilance, slowing median reaction time by 47.04 ms compared to normal sleep.
Why the study?
Understanding the effect of stress, fatigue, and sleep deprivation on alertness in an ecologically valid setting is important because lapses in attention can have devastating consequences in safety-critical professions.
Does overnight military training with sleep deprivation affect cognitive performance and cardiac activity during simulated urban combat in conscripts?
Population
45 conscripts
Comparison
Overnight military training with no sleep vs a night of sleep prior to close-quarters battle exercise
Design
Two-group experimental study
Authors
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Highlights risks during sleep-deprived military training; hypothesis-generating for countermeasures and broader applicability.
RCT (n=45)
Open-label
Pseudorandomized
No
Does overnight military training with sleep deprivation affect cognitive performance and cardiac activity during simulated urban combat in conscripts?
Mean Difference: 47.04 (95% CI 20.46–73.63)
Absolute Event Rate: 300% vs 269%
p-value: p=<0.01
Overnight military training with sleep deprivation impairs alertness, but cognitive performance on stimulating tasks is preserved despite fatigue and acute stress.
Passi et al. (2022) conducted an RCT in Healthy military conscripts (n=45). Overnight military training with sleep deprivation vs. Normal sleep was evaluated on Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT) median reaction time (MD 47.04 ms, 95% CI 20.46-73.63, p=<0.01). Overnight military training with sleep deprivation significantly impaired psychomotor vigilance, slowing median reaction time by 47.04 ms compared to normal sleep.
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