NOT in the Navy: sailors get the boot because they SLEEPWALK

FIVE sailors were dismissed from the Navy for sleepwalking

 

THE Royal Navy dismissed five sailors last year for sleepwalking, it’s been revealed.

 

Not only were the sleepwalkers given the boot, but now ANYONE suffering from the disorder is also banned from joining the senior service, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request showed.

It is thought that this precautionary measure is stop sailors harming themselves by venturing out on to deck at night. 

The Armed Forces' medical rules are being updated to make the entry bar official and also to disqualify those who suffer from "sleep terrors", the Ministry of Defence's Navy Command Secretariat said.

 

Sleepwalkers will be banned from joining the service

 

Sleep walking is when someone walks or carries out complex activities while not fully awake.

People can eat, work or even have SEX whilst sleep walking, say Patient.info.

It usually occurs during a period of deep sleep and tends to occur in the first few hours after falling asleep. 

Medical regulations already block people with other sleep conditions.

 

Sleep walking is when someone walks or carries out complex activities while not fully awake

 

Those with sleep apnoea, a condition where people stop breathing while they are asleep are also barred from joining, the MoD added in its reply to the FOI.

It said: "Sleepwalking is a bar to entry to the Royal Navy. Whilst this is not presently enshrined in MoD policy ... sleepwalking beyond the age of 13 is seen as a permanent medical disqualification. Policy updates to that effect are currently in the process of being cleared for publication."

It added: “The permanently disqualifying nature of sleep terrors will similarly be reflected in the pending ... policy update."

 

It usually occurs during a period of deep sleep and tends to occur in the first few hours after fall

How the five sailors' sleepwalking was discovered still remains a mystery.

The FOI also disclosed that 12 service personnel have been rated as having a "medically limited deployability" (MLD) for a "sleep-related disorder" since 2011.

The Royal Navy website says anyone marked as MLD "requires a risk assessment to be carried out for each deployment”.