text: Sleep Readiness
  Table 11-1. Maximizing mission sleep
  Before
  Two weeks prior, get 8 or more hours of sleep per night.
  Stop caffeine and alcohol consumption at least 6 hours prior to scheduled sleep.
  During
  Take naps whenever possible to accumulate 7-8 hours of sleep in every 24 hour period.
  Caffeine can be used to reduce grogginess on awakening.
  Separate day and night shift sleep areas.
  After
  To reduce sleep debt or deprivation, plan on additional sleep time.
  Increase sleep to 8 hours every 24 hours to return to optimal alertness and performance.
  11-43. Importantly, the benefits of sleep banking are not limited just to the following day; such benefits
  have been shown to remain evident over days and weeks, and may last even longer. This is because the brain
  saves (or banks) sleep that it does not use the next day, and it expends that sleep during future periods of
  sleep loss. Increasing the amount of sleep prior to a mission improves performance during that mission and,
  as a bonus, reduces the amount of sleep subsequently needed to recover from that mission. When possible,
  leaders should provide Soldiers the opportunity for extended sleep (10 hours in bed per night may be optimal)
  for several consecutive nights (for at least one week, if possible) prior to missions likely to involve significant
  sleep loss. Leaders should encourage Soldiers to take appropriate advantage of this opportunity for extra
  sleep. Soldiers best accomplish sleep extension by going to bed earlier (rather than staying in bed later)
  because awakening at the same time each morning helps to sustain and strengthen the brain’s circadian
  rhythm of alertness.
  During Missions
  11-44. Properly planned sleep management strategies facilitate alertness and performance in any
  operational scenario. They can make the difference between mission success and failure during continuous
  operations when the stakes are high and opportunities for sleep are restricted. The ultimate goal of these
  strategies is to maximize unit readiness and lethality.
  11-45. Two complementary approaches optimize Soldier alertness and effectiveness during continuous and
  sustained operations when they have little or no opportunity for sleep. The first (and most effective) approach
  is to optimize sleep itself, to the maximum extent is possible to do so given operational constraints. Nothing
  is better, in the short- or long-term, at preventing or reversing the effects of sleep loss than sleep itself. The
  second approach is to directly facilitate alertness in the sleep-deprived Soldier by using a stimulant such as
  caffeine. This has to be done in a way that minimizes the counterproductive effects of the stimulant on the
  Soldiers’ ability to take advantage of whatever limited opportunities for sleep may arise during the mission.
  11-46. The short- and long-term goals of the first approach is to maximize sleep duration and continuity—
  an approach that primarily entails optimization of work-rest schedules and optimization of the sleep
  environment. The second approach aims to optimize alertness and performance directly with caffeine, albeit
  in a manner that minimizes the negative effects of the caffeine on sleep duration and continuity.
  After Missions
  11-47. The longer an individual goes without sleep, the greater the decline in cognitive performance, and
  the longer it will take to recover from the sleep debt that has accrued. In general, it takes longer to recover
  from chronic sleep restriction (several nights of inadequate sleep) than it takes to recover from a comparable
  level of acute total sleep deprivation (a single period of extended wakefulness). While it is difficult to predict
  precisely the amount of recovery sleep required by each individual, the goal should always be to maximize
  the opportunity for recovery sleep following any mission that results in sleep loss.