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Self-Reported Sleep Quality and Cognitive Performance in Special Operations Forces Personnel
Daniel T Corry1, Adam W Kiefer1,2, Brock A Benedict3
1Matthew Gfeller Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, United States.
Military Medicine
|June 30, 2026
Summary
Poorer sleep quality in Special Operations Forces (SOF) was linked to better performance on a cognitive task measuring inhibitory control. This finding contrasts with expectations and suggests unique resilience or compensatory mechanisms in this population.
Area of Science:
- Military Medicine
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Sleep Science
Background:
- Special Operations Forces (SOF) require high cognitive function for complex missions.
- Adequate sleep is crucial for maintaining cognitive performance, with deficits impacting reaction time and memory.
- Limited research exists on the sleep quality-cognitive performance link in SOF personnel.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between sleep quality and cognitive performance in SOF personnel.
- To test the hypothesis that poorer sleep quality correlates with cognitive decrements in this population.
Main Methods:
- 183 male SOF personnel completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and cognitive tasks.
- Spearman correlations and multivariate linear regression were used to analyze data.
- Analyses controlled for demographics, service years, TBI history, and mental health symptoms.
Main Results:
- Reduced sleep efficiency was associated with better performance on the Go/No-Go (GNG) task, which measures inhibitory control.
- More frequent sleep disturbance was also linked to better GNG performance, though this did not remain statistically significant after Bonferroni correction.
- Contrary to the hypothesis, poorer sleep quality did not correlate with cognitive deficits in SOF personnel.
Conclusions:
- Reduced sleep efficiency was unexpectedly associated with enhanced inhibitory control (GNG performance) in SOF personnel.
- This suggests potential resilience or compensatory strategies in SOF regarding cognitive function despite sleep deficits.
- Further research is needed to understand the determinants of military brain health and the sleep-cognition relationship in high-performing populations.
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