Cognitive Performance changes during a 20-day Winter Military Training Course and the Following 10-day Recovery Period

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of a winter military field training course consisting of strenuous physical stressors (e.g. physical activity, sleep deprivation and cold weather) on cognitive performance among Finnish soldiers. Methods: Fifty-eight (age 19 ± 1 years, height 182 ± 6 cm, body mass 78.5 ± 7.2 kg) male soldiers took part in a 20-day military field training course in northern Finland. Cognitive performance was assessed before, during, and after the course four times on a tablet computer. Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART) was used to assess soldier’s executive and inhibitory function. Baddeley’s 3-min reasoning task (BRT) was used to assess grammatical reasoning, and Change Blindness (CB) task was used to assess visual perception. Results: Strenuous winter field training had detrimental effects in all performance tests compared to baseline. SART response rate decreased 27.3% ( p < 0.001), and BRT and CB task scores decreased 20.6% ( p < 0.01) and 14.1% ( p < .05), respectively. Conclusion: The present study showed a decline in soldier’s cognitive performance after 20-days of physically demanding winter military field training. To be able to optimise field training, it is important to be aware of how cognitive performance changes during military exercises and missions.

Human performance and medical treatment during cold weather operations – synthesis of a symposium

“…Although it is well established that physical and mental stress affect cognitive performance, until recently neuropsychological effects of cold have been relatively neglected in cold weather operations. In soldiers exposed to stressful environments, decrements in cognitive function usually result when the demands of the tasks exceed the soldier’s capacity [ 15 ]. Tasks deemed relatively simple when conducted in non-stressful environmental conditions can become demanding in extreme cold environments [ 16 ].…”

“…It is common to conduct experiments assessing the effect of extreme environmental conditions in controlled laboratory conditions. In contrast, the studies presented by Kallinen and Ojanen [ 15 ], Dunn and Jones [ 16 ] and Zheng et al [ 17 ] were conducted under field conditions. Such studies are difficult to perform, but extremely relevant for supporting soldiers in cold weather operations.…”

“…Ten days after completion of the exercise, testing demonstrated complete recovery. In this multistressor cold weather training (average temperatures −11.3°C; lowest temperature −31.8°C), soldiers travelled long distances by cross-country skis while carrying loads of up to 40 kg [ 15 ]. Such information is useful to mission planning in extreme environments, both in terms of anticipating decrements in performance and the rate of recovery following such an exhaustive mission.…”