| Abstrakt: |
Background: Sleep disturbances are an ongoing concern among the active duty (AD) Army community. The Performance Triad (P3), implemented in 2013, focuses on sleep education and hygiene; however, sleep disturbances remain prevalent. To date, no studies have evaluated the attitudes, beliefs, and sleep quality of AD soldiers and sleep's perceived impact on occupational performance. The purpose of this study was to identify these variables to understand how sleep is experienced in AD and its impact on performance. Methods: This triangulation, convergence model, mixed methods study design recruited 102 AD Army soldiers aged 20 to 62 with a minimum of two years' service. Recruitment took place at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Cross-sectional quantitative data was gathered from three self-report measures and demographic information. All soldiers were invited to participate in a semi-structured interview investigating the perceptions of sleep participation and factors that enable and limit obtainment, to which 11 soldiers agreed. Results: Significant relationships were found between poor sleep quality, increased dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, and decreased perceived daily function. Poor sleep quality was significant for higher caffeine consumption, while dysfunctional beliefs were significant among training locations and for alcohol use. Additionally, decreased self-efficacy was revealed to impact the sleep experience while on AD among participants. Leadership was identified as being able to change the Army's sleep culture. Conclusions: Most study participants had poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality demonstrated significant relationships with both dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and perceived daily performance. Additionally, self-efficacy was a primary barrier to implementing sleep hygiene principles for change in sleep for this sample population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
