¹The Air Force Hospital of Northern Theater PLA, Department of Gastroenterology, Shenyang, China, ²967 Hospital of the Joint Logistics Support Force, Department of Sleep Medicine, Dalian, China

Background: Sleep is a basic need for humans to maintain normal life activities. High-quality sleep is not only a guarantee for physical and mental health but also plays an important role in the restoration of the body's immune function. As a special group, military personnel need to be prepared for higher - intensity physical and mental confrontation. Special military combat tasks and complex military operational environments make military personnel more prone to sleep disorders, which in turn affect cognitive functions.

Aims & Objectives: This paper reviews the research progress on sleep support in recent years and puts forward thoughts on strengthening sleep support practices, aiming to provide references for improving the understanding of the impact of changes in military operational environments on soldiers' sleep and promoting high - quality combat effectiveness through full - cycle service for soldiers' physical and mental health.

Method: This study uses a diversified research approach. Through literature review, it systematically sorts out the current research progress on sleep support in military operational environments in order to explore the development trend of military sleep medicine.

Results: In modern warfare, the combat environment is becoming increasingly complex, with continuous innovation in combat styles, multi - domain and multi - element combat forces, and rapid growth in support needs. Major military powers attach great importance to the impact of sleep on the health of military personnel and have carried out a series of explorations in the field of military sleep maintenance. Against the background of the US military's all - weather combat concept and the intelligent combat mode it advocates, the proportion of sleep deprivation among its active - duty military personnel reaches 76%. To address this, the US military has carried out corresponding explorations in ways such as developing sleep detection equipment to assist military personnel in obtaining "protective" sleep, formulating special physical exercise programs, using transcranial electrical stimulation, and combining light simulation with photosensitive drugs.

Discussion & Conclusions: Confrontation in various fields is intensifying. Winning modern wars, which are information - intensive and technology - intensive, requires the physical and psychological qualities and functional reserves of military personnel. As the most basic physiological and psychological support, sleep support should be recognized and valued more highly. In this regard, future work and research should pay more attention to sleep problems and scientifically address the characteristics of possible sleep problems in different military branches. The threshold for military sleep support should be moved forward, combining group intervention with individual intervention, and appropriately including the sleep quality of recruits in the comprehensive evaluation criteria for physical and mental qualities upon enlistment. Military sleep medicine research should be promoted, focusing on the transformation of theoretical, practical, and technological achievements. This not only guarantees the health of military personnel, maintains and enhances combat effectiveness, but also, due to its good prospects for both military and civilian use, is a natural path for implementing the national strategy of military - civilian integration.