How much sleep do you get in Army Basic Training?

Question

I'm confident I'll make it through the yelling, following orders and physical training but I've always been a giant wuss when it comes to sleep. If I have only a couple of hours a night, I start to lose my mind a little bit and can't function. Is there any free time in between drills or after meals in which one could sneak an hour of sleep? I'm also a very light sleeper, are the barracks filled with 18 year old kids talking or loud snoring? I know it will be tough in many other ways but this is honestly my main concern.

Answer 1

There are two things that Boot Camp definitely cures. One is being a picky eater and the other is being a light sleeper. You learn to sleep when you can, even if it's with your eyes open while standing in line. There were plenty of times where I was so tired that 10 minutes felt like hours. Don't worry, you get use to it.

Answer 2

If you like sleep DON'T join the Navy. When I went through boot camp (recruit training) was 11 weeks 7 days a week (no weekends off). We were scheduled 6 hours a night. But 1-2 hours a night is a watch 6 times a week. If you are not a strong swimmer, or dont do well on the little military history exams you will get up 2 hrs early for extra instruction, knocking your night's sleep to 3 hours at some point. There are ZERO opportunities for naps. And if you start dozing and don't want to get in SERIOUS trouble, you stand up (if you aren't al ready standing) in the back of whatever room you are in. This is the ONLY acceptable remedy for sleepiness /exhaustion. This sleep deprivation is what weeds out the people who can really serve at sea. I don't know about the Army. Perhaps the air Force is a little better about sleep, but don't count on it. The Air Force is no joke.

Answer 3

I went through Basic at ft. Knox. I don't believe a word mentioned. When I went in, the combined AIT with Basic which made it 18 weeks long. But we ate in the mess hall 3 times a day (except when in the field). Even in 1990, no body was allowed to touch you. I'm sure some guys cried themselves to sleep because they couldn't handle the stress of being yelled at. When I went it was the Fall/Winter season. If we had to shot that day, we did regardless of the weather. I lost a lot of fat when I was in, that's normal. The under weight guys were fed more. If he had no sleep before coming home, that's his fault, it doesn't take two days to clean unless he had done no cleaning the entire time he was there and the place was a wreck. It's all a game. Do as you are told and just remind yourself that once Basic is over, the rest is even easier.

Answer 4

Don't ever take the sleeping pills route!!

1. They will damage your liver big time and you can get into serious health problems.

2. You will get hooked up on them and you won't be able to have a normal life any more if you don't take your pills everyday.

The sleeping pills industry is damaging our health by capitalizing on our ignorance, and by distracting people from effective and natural ways to deal with this problem. I had been taking prescription sleep medications [Ambien] for over 5 years. It stopped working and I simply took more. Still did not work. Nights were very difficult - medication put me to sleep but I would wake up after 2–3 hours with a strong sympathetic response (fast pulse, pounding heartbeat, wide awake alert). It was a very difficult cycle to break. I was really in bad shape due to lack of sleep.

After years of struggling I was able to cure my insomnia naturally and pretty fast. I followed the Sleep Tracks sleep optimization program, here is their official web -site if you want to take a look: http://www.insomniacure.net

Ohhh..and Good Luck!

Answer 5

I'm afraid you're going to have to find a way to deal with it; you'll be getting on average five to six hours of sleep a night; and on some nights, four or less--not including the nights you have to pull CQ or fireguard duty, where you stay up all night. That said, you also have to contend with the turds who insist on staying up later into the night talking or goofing off, depending on how lax the drill sergeant is... that, and some of the loudest snoring you'll ever hear. I'd suggest you learn to become a heavy sleeper, if at all possible... Basic ain't fun for light sleepers. Oh, and don't count on the catnaps. The drill sergeants will have your rear for breakfast if they see you snoozing somewhere when you're not actually in bed.

Answer 6

Roughly 6 hours....7days a week, for 13 weeks ( USMC) It also depends on watch status and chores or studying, you may need to catch up on. No naps of free time during the day..when you are not training you will be marching, drilling, PT, and standing at attention.
If you dont do well on a few hours of sleep, what would you do in War, when you may be awake for 36 hrs at a time???? If snoring bothers you, can you imagine the sound of gunfire and explosions?? can really mess up a nights sleep.
Might want to consider a security officers job at the mall

Answer 7

When I went through basic I probably got about 5 hours of sleep. The sleep is pretty much substituted with the amount that you eat, which probably comes out to 3-4k calories a day. I don't really recall snoring being a problem.

Answer 8

I was having alot of anxiety before sleeping and could not fall asleep. Had many many sleepless nights.

I was just playing with the program one afternoon and wanted to listen to the �Power Nap� track. Next thing I knew I was waking up! Fell right asleep without trying. After using the �Fall Asleep� track, I could fall asleep right away. But I didn't realize that I shouldn't be using that one all night. Switched to Whole Night and have been using it ever since.

I can go to sleep with ease now. I just lay and listen to the sounds and next thing I know I am waking up from a nice sleep. I don't suffer from lack of sleep anymore. I keep an IPod with earbuds next to my bed and take it ALWAYS when traveling. The earbuds help block out ambient noise and the sleep tracks keep me sleeping sound :)

Reboot your brain & sleep soundly again?

Answer 9

The government is only required to give you 4 hours a day of rest. I got about 6 in basic training, you will find places to sleep when you get a chance. At night, everyone wants to go to sleep at "lights out." I wished I had gotten more, but you get use to it.

After basic, it was up to me to go to sleep and wake up by a certain time.

Answer 10

I was in Basic at Ft. Jackson, S.C. in 1991 and we were lucky to get 4 or 5 hours a night. Take away one hour for fire guard duty. 3 hours a night. When its lights out, no one is yelling or talking, everyone is sleeping. lol Just hope your buddy doesn't snore. You will most likely be in a barracks with 60 other guys. You just have to get used to it.

Good Luck!