Sleep deprived? Join the club
April 27th, 2012 | Health Life at Sea Navy Safety | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
Long, odd work schedules and cramped berthing don't make getting decent shut eye easy, as these sailors faced aboard the submarine Virginia. (Navy photo)
Apparently it’s not just the Navy that has a sleep problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 41 million American workers aren’t getting enough Zzzzs. That’s nearly one in three workers.
“Not surprisingly, workers who work the night shift are more likely to not get enough sleep,” according to Dr. Sara Luckhaupt of the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, who authored the study.
Those workers pulling more than 40 hours on the job each week also are more apt to get less sleep than what medical experts say is needed to stay alert, avoid fatigue and remain mentally sharp. The study found that four in 10 night shift workers say they don’t get enough sleep, but that’s not surprising of course.
Lack of sleep is linked to all sorts of ailments, including diabetes and obesity. Sleep deprivation, and the inherent problems that come from it, is disconcerting to Navy officials seeing the rising popularity of sleep aids to make up for the deficit in sleep and supplements like “go pills” to help keep someone awake. Navy safety officials told a Combat Operational Stress Conference audience in San Diego last year that fatigue was the culprit in 85 percent of mishaps caused by human error, and lack of decent sleep was the main driver.
The worst community at avoiding the issue? The surface fleet, despite various efforts to try different watch sections to try to curb fatigue and get more alert watchstanders. Long days at sea, prolonged flight operations, and nontraditional workdays can lead to more disrupted sleep and more fatigue. Eight hours of sleep? Mission impossible. Short naps instead? Not always seen as professional, although there’s growing research of its value in keeping folks alert. This 2006 thesis by a student at Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., found big benefits of naps at least 20 minutes long.
But the 24/7 demands of naval service mean the mission continues, regardless. Still, you wonder sometimes why being a sailor (and actually, any military service member) isn’t among the best jobs.
Hand is an amazing, yet creepy, Navy development
February 2nd, 2012 | Facebook Health Medical Navy | Posted by Joshua Stewart
The Navy has developed one of the most realistic prosthetic limbs ever. Creepily realistic.
The Navy has developed an incredibly realistic prosthetic limb. When finished it better not be so scary or nobody will want to use it. // Navy Photo
The picture appeared on the Navy’s Facebook page but it didn’t include many details. What is clear is that it’s part of the Navy’s ongoing work to make wounded service members as whole as possible. Needless to say, this is an amazing piece of equipment that will hopefully improve somebody’s life in immeasurable ways.
But until then, it seems unnaturally lifelike and kind of reminds the Scoop Deck of this:
Military spouse input needed
July 19th, 2011 | Health Life at Home Marital life Navy Research Spouses | Posted by Bill McMichael
The Naval Health Research Center is looking to enroll more than 10,000 military spouses in a new study of military family health. The Department of Defense Millennium Cohort Family Study aims for a more comprehensive understanding of how military families are coping with military life after nearly a decade at war.
The new study is the fourth part of the ongoing Millennium Cohort Study, being conducted by the Deployment Health Research Department at the Naval Health Research Center. Officials say the study, which began in 2001, is the largest prospective health project in military history.
It’s not open to everyone. The service member of the spouse must have received an invitation and have also enrolled in the Millennium Cohort Study at https://secure.millenniumcohort.org/. Participants are selected randomly from a military database.
Eligible spouses are being asked to complete a web-based questionnaire that asks about their mental and physical health, the quality of their marital and family relationships, their deployment and reunion experiences, their perception of how their sponsor is coping and how military life and deployment are affecting their children, if applicable. Spouses, once enrolled, will be asked questions periodically over three years, regardless if the service member is still in the military or not or no longer living with them. All information will be kept confidential.
Enrollment for the family study began June 7.
To enroll in the family study, go to http://www.familycohort.org/.