20 Holistic Sleep-Optimization Tips for Better Performance, Mental Health, and Resilience

Healthy sleep leaves you refreshed, resilient, and ready to take on the next challenge! Sleep is critical to optimize your performance and military wellness, but what works for you might not work for others.

Use the worksheet below to check off those science-based, sleep habit tips you currently do—and which ones you’d like to try to sleep better.

Learn more about how to improve your sleep by reading HPRC’s sleep optimization for the military overview. Also, check out HPRC’s sleep diary and sleep self-study to learn more about your sleep patterns.

Published on: July 2, 2024

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Chuah, L. Y. M., Dolcos, F., Chen, A. K., Zheng, H., Parimal, S., & Chee, M. W. L. (2010). Sleep deprivation and interference by emotional distracters. Sleep, 33(10), 1305–1313. doi:10.1093/sleep/33.10.1305

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Kamimori, G. H., McLellan, T. M., Tate, C. M., Voss, D. M., Niro, P., & Lieberman, H. R. (2014). Caffeine improves reaction time, vigilance and logical reasoning during extended periods with restricted opportunities for sleep. Psychopharmacology, 232(12), 2031–2042. doi:10.1007/s00213-014-3834-5

Lim, J., & Dinges, D. F. (2008). Sleep deprivation and vigilant attention. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1129(1), 305–322. doi:10.1196/annals.1417.002

Troxel, W. M., Shih, R. A., Pedersen, E., Geyer, L., Fisher, M. P., Griffin, B. A., . . . Steinberg, P. S. (2015). Sleep in the military: Promoting healthy sleep among U.S. servicemembers. Rand Corporation, Santa Monica, CA, Retrieved 18 February 2020 from http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR700/RR739/RAND_RR739.pdf

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