The phrase immediately brings to mind explosions in the background. Shell holes. Cries of the dying and wounded. The sound of gunfire, off in the distance (I'm getting used to it now).
Definitely not the kind of place where you'd go for a good night sleep.
At least, that's what I think. I mean, given a choice between a war zone and my bedroom here in quiet Grumpyville, I think I'd sleep better here. In a scientific poll (okay, I asked my kids) 100% of respondents agreed you'd likely sleep better at home than in an active military operations area.
Of course, someone had to prove this.
So, in a study involving over 41,000 soldiers, they compared sleeping habits at home to sleeping habits in war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan.
They found that soldiers in war zones don't sleep as well as those at home.
In a breakdown of groups, soldiers who'd been directly involved in recent combat situations had more trouble sleeping than non-combatants.
Here's the complete story.
Thank you, NLK!
13 comments:
Actually, compared to a night with the typical dualing child blood curdling screaming going on in my house, a war zone sounds peaceful.
Thank heavens for research!
I think I would find it far easier to fall asleep in a war zone than my warm, comfortable bed - not!
Research is a wonderful thing, but I wonder at times whether researchers are, erm, embarrased by their project?
All obvious silly points aside, I imagine the purpose was to show that not only those currently on deployment have difficulty sleeping, but also those who have returned from deployment and are back in their warm safe beds (completed deployment) continue to have sleep problems as opposed to those who have never deployed. I imagine they are setting the groundwork for expanded PTSD type research/veterens benefits.
Just my 2 cents: CombatBootWearingPharmD
word Verif: OUSEG as in Ou Seg can you see....
My husband is an Active Duty Marine and came home from Afghanistan to 3 kids (7, 4 and 2) and a 6 month puppy. He was gone for 9 months and after a week, I think he may have longed for the quiet of the sandbox!
We also live on a MC base that has constant small arms and large weapons fire going at all hours.
Anonymous @ 8:19, I suspect and hope that it has more to do with fighting the view within the VA that PTSD should be REMOVED as a diagnosis.
There are veterans who have faked symptoms of PTSD to get benefits they are not otherwise entitled to, and even books detailing strategies for best supporting your PTSD diagnosis. Certain members of the VA's mental health community, and the bean counters, have been agitating to simply remove the diagnosis, rather than find better ways to fight fraud. (Such as, say, simply verifying the veteran's records agree with the account the veteran is giving to claim PTSD. A large number of the fraud cases are proven frauds in this manner. Annoyingly - often after having gotten benefits for some time, because the sort of records verification is not normal procedure.)
Spending money on studies to document effects from war zone service seems to me a better thing than removing a valid diagnosis.
Defining traumatic stress is a blood sport among those who are in a social strata which never experiences the risks of combat.
Veterans who didn't die in the war are merely unexpended assets which should go away and not bother their betters?
Perhaps our self-styled nobility should heed the clarion call by riding in our vanguard
Here is a way to end this type of stupid study:
BRING THE TROOPS HOME
I turned 60 this week, there has not been a day in that 60 years where American Troops have not been in some hot zone somewhere in the world. For a peace loving people we sure are warlike.
This makes me want to scream. Was this DOD research money, or did some dim wit sponsor it?
My husband has been home for over 2 years, and he still doesn't sleep as well as he did before he left. He said when he was actually in A-stan, he averaged about 4 hours a night. I can't believe some idiot decided this was a good thing to spend money on.
1125- you are a true patriot. support our troops. bring them home. alive and well.
I'm just amazed that you can actually get CE credit for reading that. I should have taken the easy route and gone to med school!
I wonder how much this research project cost?
wtf??? i'm sure we paid for that study. how stupid.....of course soldiers in war zones don't sleep as well as people at home. and THAT folks is our US tax dollar at work!
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