Name: "Sleep adjustment"; "Sleep deprivation"

Source: DOD Working Group memo, March 2003; DOD memo, April 16, 2003

Description: According to the Pentagon, "sleep adjustment" means altering the sleep cycles of detainees by reversing day and night to induce disorientation similar to jet lag. Commanders at Abu Ghraib were authorized to implement sleep-adjustment techniques for up to 72 hours. The DOD Working Group defined "sleep deprivation" as "keeping the detainee awake for an extended period of time (allowing individual to rest briefly and then awakening him, repeatedly) NOT to exceed four days in succession."

Physical, Psychological, or Other Effects: Moderate sleep deprivation can impair cognitive functions including memory, learning, logical reasoning, arithmetic skills, verbal processing, and decision-making. Prolonged sleep deprivation causes attention deficits, short-term memory problems, speech impairment, and other ailments. According to a study by Physicians for Human Rights, a group based in Cambridge, Mass., this tactic can also cause high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and exacerbate existing ailments. Another study found that sleep deprivation can reduce an individual's tolerance for pain and ability to resist suggestion.

Locations Used: Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan

Legal Opinion: Interference with sleep likely violates the Geneva Conventions.

FM 34-52 describes "abnormal sleep deprivation" as a form of mental torture.

The European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court of Israel have ruled sleep deprivation inhumane and unlawful. The DOD Working Group noted these decisions in its March 2003 memo but concluded that they do not apply to American actions because they were not binding on the United States.