While 24/7 operations in the Army make shift work a necessity, this also affects the body’s circadian rhythms which signal the body when one should feel alert or sleepy, reports the U.S. Army.
To help service members and leaders understand the effects of shift work on sleep, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Matthew Rodgers, officer in charge of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center’s Sleep Disorders Center, gave a presentation to Soldiers with U.S. Army Signal Activity Kaiserslautern, 102nd Strategic Signal Battalion, at LRMC, Jan. 8.
“(Shift work) is absolutely mission essential for us,” said Staff Sgt. Darrel Zirk, a multichannel transmission systems operator with USASA-K. “The training might help give leaders a little consideration with regard to shift workers’ sleep schedules, because we’re always fine tuning our operations and trying to make it better for shift workers.”
via LRMC sleep expert stresses effects of shift work on sleep.
