New Army field manual recommends midday naps

[Cliffh]

This has been out for a couple of months, just ran across it tonight:

New Army field manual recommends midday naps

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/10/01/New-Army-field-manual-recommends-midday-naps/7091601595659/

There are also chapters on setting goals, visualizing success and "spiritual readiness."

WTF?  Are these kids learning to grow up, fight & survive or are they simply continuing kindergarten??? 

[zahc]

There's a lot of sense in taking naps. Not only is it better in general, according to all research, but could be important especially if you don't know for sure when, or if you will be sleeping that night.

Setting goals and visualizing success is pretty basic. What exactly is wrong with learning how to set goals? I'm curious why this is a problem. This is a training manual for training right?

Spiritual readiness has been a thing since forever. Army had always had chaplains, right? Plus, sometime around the vietnam era they started to tackle the problem that most people don't want to kill other people, or to die for that matter. Is there an effective warrior culture ever that doesn't incorporate spiritual readiness to kill and die? Granted it's awkward for us because we are supposed to be diverse and secular or some combination at the same time.

[Fly320s]

Cliff, everyone in the Army knows "sleep when you can."  That is absolutely the Army way.  As well as the Marines, and those other three near-military forces.

Naps are awesome.  I am a strong advocate for what I call the NASA Nap.  Years ago, NASA published a paper that said a short nap, even a 10 minute nap, could improve alertness, which is something I have always known.

As to the "visualizing success and spiritual readiness," it works for professional athletes.

[dogmush]

Also, this is the PT and Health  field manual, not the one on running a hasty ambush.

The Army is trying a more Holistic approach to wellness and exercise to make healthier soldiers that handle stress better.  Some of the stuff really works pretty well.

[Boomhauer]

Gotta be better than slamming energy drinks and nicotine

[dogmush]

Gotta be better than slamming energy drinks and nicotine

And then downing a fifth so you can get to sleep.

Yeah, that's the idea.

[TommyGunn]

Cliff, everyone in the Army knows "sleep when you can."   That is absolutely the Army way.  As well as the Marines, and those other three near-military forces.

Naps are awesome.  I am a strong advocate for what I call the NASA Nap.  Years ago, NASA published a paper that said a short nap, even a 10 minute nap, could improve alertness, which is something I have always known.

As to the "visualizing success and spiritual readiness," it works for professional athletes.

I recall reading a book about George Armstrong Custer in which the author said during the Plains Indian Wars when the 7th was out on a March he'd be at the head of the column,  pull off and lie down and take a quick "cat-nap"  for as long as it took for the column to pass by,  which was apparently quite a few minutes.  Custer apparently could fall asleep very quickly.   Then he'd wake up,  remount his horse,  and race back up to the head of the column.

[WLJ]

[Ron]

Set the timer for 35-40 minutes when I nap.

Anything longer I end up feeling groggy afterward.

Generally I'm an early riser so a mid afternoon nap is refreshing.

[Ben]

Set the timer for 35-40 minutes when I nap.

Anything longer I end up feeling groggy afterward.

Generally I'm an early riser so a mid afternoon nap is refreshing.

I can definitely see the Army pushing naps. I too, am an early riser. Not just that, but I seem to really go downhill after noon regarding energy to do stuff. These days, I will often take a quick 20 minute nap after lunch, then feel energized to do a few more hours work around the farm.

While still working, man, did I usually go downhill after lunch. My most productive hours were always around 0600-1100. If I were in settings where I could have grabbed a few winks after lunch, I sure would have wasted less of your tax dollars from my afternoon slack-offs. 

[kgbsquirrel]

Lunch time naps on the ship really did improve the work day.

[Cliffh]

No time tonight to post much tonight.  Will say that I learned how to cat-nap while standing in formation.

USMC '75-'80.

[Devonai]

There were some changes in my favor at work recently.  For years, there was the attitude that federal technicians such as myself should have the same work ethic as the Active Guard/Reserve (AGR) members, insofar as "your butt belongs to the military and you are always on duty."  However, not receiving active duty benefits, there was always a pushback from technicians, most who earn far less than their active duty peers.

My work ethic is pretty simple.  I'll work as hard as anyone else while you're paying me.  If you want me to drink the kool-aid and be available 24/7, put me on orders and give me BAH/BAS.  If it's a bona fide emergency, I won't gripe about working late/odd hours, but you better believe I'm going to use that comp time.

Anyway, this divide has become more evident to leadership lately, and as a result my lunch break has become sacrosanct.  I've gotten into the habit of firing down my lunch in 20 minutes, closing and locking the door to my office,* and setting a timer for 35 minutes.  Thanks to the Army, as soon as I set my head down on my desk, I'm out.  I love it.

* I'm lucky enough to have my own office, which is actually pretty unusual on my base for anyone not a commander, superintendent, or Chief (E9).

[T.O.M.]

We typically have 60-90 minutes between the last morning hearing and the first afternoon hearing.  One of my co-workers grabs a quick lunch and disappears in his office for meditation/nap.  He grabs 30-40 minutes, and is up and ready 10 minutes before his afternoon starts.  Says it has helped with his nightly sleep, his blood pressure, and his weight loss efforts.  He uses some app on his phone to slowly wake him over the last 5-10 minutes of his nap.

[French G.]

Lunch time naps on the ship really did improve the work day.

My last ship we had six recliners tucked away in the first class mess. With 140 1sts and similar amount of E-6 crayola munchers(SSGT) those things were seldom unoccupied or clean.

[kgbsquirrel]

My last ship we had six recliners tucked away in the first class mess. With 140 1sts and similar amount of E-6 crayola munchers(SSGT) those things were seldom unoccupied or clean.

I can't sleep sitting up in a soft chair like a person with normal ligaments.  But a plain metal card table bolted to the deck in the berthing lounge and a skill craft chair? Head down on crossed arms and out like a light.

[RoadKingLarry]

Lunch time naps on the ship really did improve the work day.

Particularly when in port and lunch was of the hydraulic variety at the E-Club. 

[kgbsquirrel]

Particularly when in port and lunch was of the hydraulic variety at the E-Club. 

Those stopped existing before I hit the fleet in 2003.

[Cliffh]

Some things that don't seem right:

The new guide focuses on individual wellness rather than the health of whole units,....

Really?  The health of the unit is what keeps the individuals alive.  Everyone in the unit can be well rounded and healthy, but if the unit's sick/unhealthy, well, it ain't going to be good.

If one isn't pushed to their limits, and beyond, they'll never know what their limits are - and they'll never exceed those limits.  Might even have the opposite effect, they can't reach the limits they used to, even accounting for aging.

Re: religion, yep, it's a good thing to allow personnel to practice their faith. 

"This will require physical training to occur throughout the duty day, not just during a one-hour period in the early morning,.."

How well that works will depend on how it's implemented.  I can see units setting it up with a 15min period in the morning, everyone doing their own thing, maybe another 15 just before midday, and a couple more 15min periods before go-home time, again everyone doing their own thing.  Back in the day, I could get in some exercise in less than an hour, but for a good workout it'd take 45min to an hour.

I thought the Army was going soft-ish a few decades ago.  In boot camp the kids were assigned 4 man rooms, (I didn't get that until E4, 2 man room at E5), they had snowball fights during duty hours and got to go home for Christmas vacation.

[RoadKingLarry]

Those stopped existing before I hit the fleet in 2003.

It was still practically required in the early '80s 

[Boomhauer]

Some things that don't seem right:

Really?  The health of the unit is what keeps the individuals alive.  Everyone in the unit can be well rounded and healthy, but if the unit's sick/unhealthy, well, it ain't going to be good.

If one isn't pushed to their limits, and beyond, they'll never know what their limits are - and they'll never exceed those limits.  Might even have the opposite effect, they can't reach the limits they used to, even accounting for aging.

Re: religion, yep, it's a good thing to allow personnel to practice their faith. 

How well that works will depend on how it's implemented.  I can see units setting it up with a 15min period in the morning, everyone doing their own thing, maybe another 15 just before midday, and a couple more 15min periods before go-home time, again everyone doing their own thing.  Back in the day, I could get in some exercise in less than an hour, but for a good workout it'd take 45min to an hour.

I thought the Army was going soft-ish a few decades ago.  In boot camp the kids were assigned 4 man rooms, (I didn't get that until E4, 2 man room at E5), they had snowball fights during duty hours and got to go home for Christmas vacation.

I’ve heard they get access to cell phones now. How much and at what point I don’t know the details of yet.

[Devonai]

I thought the Army was going soft-ish a few decades ago.  In boot camp the kids were assigned 4 man rooms, (I didn't get that until E4, 2 man room at E5), they had snowball fights during duty hours and got to go home for Christmas vacation.

At least Infantry OSUT at Fort Benning still has 60-man bays, which was my experience when I went through there in 2005.

[Cliffh]

I well know that 2005 doesn't sound all that long ago, but it was 15/16 years ago (depending on how you're counting).  Current active duty who went through at that time are getting close to retirement.... 

.... and it updates the branch's health and fitness recommendations for the first time since 2012.

I'm not going to chase down the changes that were made in 2012.  I would bet that things weren't made harder.