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Why a Good Night’s Rest is so Important to Reducing Veterans Disability Issues!

According to a new study from the U.S. Army Medical Department, of every 10 soldiers, more than 7, on average, has a chronic sleep condition. Specifically, those soldiers are not able to stay asleep, which tends to increase those soldiers' risk for multiple health issues putting them at risk of suffering a veterans disability.

The study was the first of its kind to look specifically at soldiers returning from combat and the existence of sleep deprivation and insomnia. Researchers found it was common for those soldiers who were redeployed to suffer from short sleep duration (SSD), which the study defined as sleeping less than 7 hours every night.

Being tired because of lack of sleep, however, is not what concerned researchers. Instead, they found SSD may contribute to multiple "common medical disorders" that seem to present themselves following deployment.

 Those disorders include:

• post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD);
• mild traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• major depression;
• attempted suicide; and
• substance abuse.

Due to multiple deployments, SSD is found to be fairly common among active duty soldiers. Further, those soldiers with multiple deployments will likely find their SSD failing to subside between deployments. Previous studies of people with SSD have found multiple "physical and occupational impairments" result ranging from chronic pain to concentration problems to obesity.

Although researchers could not determine if SSD "preceded or was the result of" other serious health issues among soldiers, those with SSD did have an increased risk for serious health issues. Early treatment of sleep issues, however, has shown to have positive effects for those soldiers suffering from PTSD, TBI, and depression.

If you are a disabled veteran who has been denied disability compensation or have not yet applied for benefits from the VA, a South Florida disability attorney from LaVan & Neidenberg is ready to help. To learn if you are entitled to certain programs and benefits contact our veterans disability rights firm today - 1-888-234-5758.