The Effects of Sleep on the Performance of Marines Following Exposure to Waterborne Motion

• Main Author: Gelpi, Cynthia
• Other Authors: Shattuck, Nita Lewis
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2013
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/32823

The transport of Marines and their equipment over potentially rough seas occur often as part of assault landings. Seasickness can be disabling to troops taking part in assault landings. Significant gaps exist in our knowledge and understanding of the effects of waterborne motion on the combat performance of infantry personnel embarked aboard amphibious vehicles. This study was part of the Habitability Assessment Test (HAT) and was driven by a need to determine whether sleep is related to the performance of Marines embarked on amphibious vehicles. Understanding the effect of sleep on performance enables the separation of sleep as a covariate in the evaluation of how motion affects Marines embarked on amphibious vehicles. The sleep and performance of 61 participants was observed during the course of a three-week testing period with multiple lengths of motion exposure. Performance measures were taken on various tests including marksmanship, obstacle course, and cognitive testing; in addition a subjective questionnaire on motion sickness was administered. This study shows that sleep has a definite association with performance. Furthermore, this study uncovered a circadian effect that may have influenced the overall results of the HAT study.