Restorative Sleep Gaps and Occupational Fatigue in the US Navy

Sustained military and maritime operations demand continuous cognitive control and teamwork under conditions that restrict sleep opportunity and recovery. Nutritional constraints may further shape perceived recovery and functioning in these settings. This study examined relationships among hunger, diet quality, sleep, health, anxiety, burnout, command satisfaction and mishap risk among 9742 enlisted active-duty US Navy sailors across 155 ships. For Aim 1, guided by the Job Demands-Resources and Conservation of Resources frameworks, structural equation modelling evaluated whether hunger and the restorative sleep gap (sleep needed to feel well-rested minus sleep obtained while underway) are associated with downstream health and operational outcomes. Aim 2 evaluated whether fatigue-related outcomes were more strongly differentiated by occupational role than by department. Increased hunger and larger sleep gaps were associated with poorer sleep quality, greater anxiety, higher burnout and reduced command satisfaction, even after controlling for demographic and shipboard factors. Occupational differences were generally larger than departmental differences for multiple fatigue and health-related outcomes, underscoring that fatigue vulnerability is shaped by specific work roles in addition to broad organizational divisions. Findings highlight the need for targeted fatigue-risk management and attention to sleep and nutrition access within operational environments.