text: Sleep Readiness
  be predicted before the fact; therefore, leaders need to objectively measure a Soldier’s performance since
  insufficient sleep impairs the ability to self-assess. As a rule, sleep-deprived Soldiers will overestimate their
  own capabilities. Leaders should expect and plan not only for reduced performance, but increasing variability
  in the effectiveness of Soldiers who have increased sleep loss.
  TIME OF DAY OR NIGHT
  11-33. The brain’s internal sleepiness-alertness cycle directly impacts performance. Because of this, work
  performed between 2300 and 0800 hours is generally less efficient (slower and with a greater number of
  errors) than work performed during the daytime and early evening hours. Leaders should anticipate reduced
  levels of productivity and effectiveness during these hours.
  JET LAG, SHIFT WORK, AND MISSIONS
  11-34. Jet lag and shift work tend to result in misalignment of the circadian rhythm. Crossing multiple time
  zones tends to result in jet lag and impacts a Soldier’s ability to adjust to the time zone and obtain needed
  sleep. In jet lag, circadian misalignment results from the inability of the brain’s internal clock to rapidly adapt
  to a new time zone. In shift work, circadian misalignment results from shifting the wake period to that portion
  of the night when sleep typically occurs and shifting the sleep period to the daytime when the brain is primed
  for wakefulness.
  11-35. Following travel across multiple time zones, re-adaptation can take from 3–4 days to several weeks
  depending on individual differences in adaptability that are determined by factors such as age and genetics.
  However, realignment of the internal clock with the new environment does not occur linearly. The greatest
  daytime deficits in alertness and performance and the most severe nighttime sleep disturbances tend to occur
  during the first 24 hours in the new time zone. These issues tend to be resolved in the first 3 or 4 days in a
  new time zone, at which point the brain’s clock will typically have made significant progress in resetting
  itself to the local day-night schedule.
  11-36. The brain’s clock can more easily adapt to westward travel (to stay up later at night and sleep in
  longer in the morning) than to eastward travel (to go to bed earlier and arise earlier). For the same reason, it
  is easier for the brain to adapt to a forward rotating shift schedule (transitioning from the day shift to the
  evening shift to the midnight shift) than to a backward rotating shift schedule (transitioning from the midnight
  shift to the evening shift to the day shift). The greatest impacts from circadian misalignment seen in jet lag
  and shift work are sleep disturbance, deficits in self-assessment, risk of errors and accidents, and degradation
  of efficiency and productivity.
  11-37. The following strategies assist Soldiers coping with jet lag, shift work, and operational missions:
  * Before travel.
  * During travel.
  * After travel.
  * Before missions.
  * During missions.
  * After missions.
  * Continuous operations.
  Before Travel
  11-38. Up to two weeks prior to traveling, Soldiers pay down sleep debt and bank sleep by getting 8 or
  more hours of sleep per night. They do not attempt to pre-adapt to a new time zone. Attempting to pre-adapt
  by moving sleep-wake timing forward or backward is difficult to accomplish and can cause a sleep debt.
  During Travel
  11-39. Transcontinental flights east are generally scheduled for evening departure, allowing for in-flight
  sleep during periods of minimal alertness. Transcontinental westward flights are generally scheduled for