Summary: The Naval Postgraduate School’s Crew Endurance Team is conducting a long-term study using Oura rings and questionnaires to monitor the sleep, health, and mental wellness of sailors aboard warships in the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. The study aims to evaluate the impact of both deployment and shipyard maintenance environments on sailors’ well-being and operational readiness. This research is part of a larger initiative funded by the Defense Suicide Prevention Office to track the sleep and mental health of over 1,000 active-duty service members.
Key Takeaways:
- Wearable Technology for Sleep Monitoring: Sailors aboard warships are using Oura rings to monitor their sleep and health over one to two years, providing data on their well-being during deployments.
- Deployment vs Maintenance Comparisons: The study will compare the sleep and mental health outcomes of sailors deployed on missions to those in shipyard maintenance environments to better understand the challenges of each setting.
- Impact on Future Policies: The results from this study will inform future policies regarding sleep, fatigue, and mental health in the Navy, potentially improving sailor well-being and operational readiness.
Sleep is critically important to the overall health and wellness of sailors. In 2017, based in part on research from the Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Crew Endurance Team, the Surface Navy mandated the use of circadian-based watch rotations.
To monitor the success of such policy changes, researchers are using wearable technologies and self-report questionnaires to collect data on the sleep and mental health of sailors. One such effort currently underway by the NPS team shows progress in this area.
Now, crew members of three warships assigned to the same Carrier Strike Group are participating in a one- to two-year longitudinal study to examine the sleep habits, health, and wellness both while deployed and in port. Outfitted with nearly 100 Oura rings per crew, the three warships assigned to the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group will deploy to the 5th and 6th Fleet areas, likely participating in combat operations as they relieve the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group on station.
Using Wearable Tech to Track Sleep in Sailors
“We are excited to participate in this important study,” says commander Mathew Rechkemmer, Commanding Officer of USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), in a release. “Our sailors lined up to volunteer, exceeding the goal of 75 by leaps and bounds.”
In addition to the warships headed out on deployment, the NPS team also enrolled nearly 100 sailors on USS James E. Williams (DDG 95), currently in a two-year midlife maintenance availability.
“Sleep is critically important to both sailor well-being and operational readiness, and the shipyard environment can be especially challenging,” says Chris McClernon, PhD, a senior researcher for the study, in a release. “This is the first time to collect data on a crew executing import maintenance duties over such a long period of time; we will be able to compare the results to their counterparts executing strike group missions downrange. The results will have a lasting impact.”
Sailors on the four warships will wear Oura rings, receive sleep enhancement kits with eye masks, ear plugs, and a sleep hygiene card with tips for healthy sleep as part of a separate effort, and answer periodic questionnaires on their watch and work schedules.
In addition to The Sullivans and USS James E. Williams, the USS Stout, USS Jason Dunham, and about 30 members of the Destroyer Squadron Twenty Eight staff are also participating in the longitudinal study. This study is part of a larger longitudinal study funded by the Defense Suicide Prevention Office that is tracking the sleep and mental health of over 1,000 active duty service members. The results will inform future research and policy concerning sleep, fatigue, and mental health.
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