0913 Evaluation of a Single-Session Sleep Intervention for Air Force Trainees

Abstract Introduction Sleep insufficiency is highly prevalent in military personnel and has detrimental impacts on operational readiness and health. Sleep health across this population does not appear to have improved despite targeted health promotion programs and efforts to bolster evidence-based tertiary care for sleep disorders. There is some evidence that problematic sleep may emerge in early military training environments and persist throughout a service member’s career. Approximately 37,000 personnel complete Air Force (USAF) technical training each year to learn job-specific skills. The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of a single-session, group-based sleep intervention in USAF Technical Training. Methods A brief (40-min) intervention incorporating behavioral sleep medicine interventions and motivational interviewing was developed and tailored for the target population. Three military units were assigned to receive either the brief sleep intervention (n = 203) or an active control group receiving a brief tobacco intervention (n = 118). Students were queried at two weeks post-intervention to assess their sleep time and quality using the Self-Assessment of Sleep Survey-Split (SASS-Y). Participants included 321 USAF technical school students (Mean age = 21), and the majority identified as male (82%), White (67%), and non-Hispanic (75%). Propensity-score-weighted multivariable logistic regression was utilized to compare the sleep outcomes between intervention and control groups at follow-up. Results At follow-up, students in the sleep intervention were significantly more likely to report sleeping > 6 hours per night on weekdays (OR = 1.49, p < .001) and more likely to endorse “Good” or “Very Good” sleep quality (OR = 1.50, p = .032) as compared to the control group. Follow-up results also showed that 69.2% of students in the sleep intervention group reported having engaged in the self-selected positive sleep ‘Action Step’ they chose and wrote down during the intervention. Conclusion This is, to our knowledge, the first study to design and test a brief motivational interviewing and behavioral sleep intervention in USAF technical training. Results suggest that a single-session, group-level intervention can promote behavioral changes and improve sleep health. Future efforts should consider low-touch additions (e.g., text messaging) to support the durability of intervention effects. Support (if any)