Publications

Human performance enhancement is an important topic in military medicine and it was the subject of a NATO workshop that considered the direct benefits of individual soldier health and fitness habits to brain health and performance, broadly grouped as “cognitive flexibility” and “cognitive reserve.” These health and fitness habits broadly include physical activity and purposeful exercise, nutritional intake, sleep and rest behaviors, psychological outlook and mindfulness, and other physiologically-based systemic challenges (e.g., thermal exposure). These influences were considered in an integrated framework with research insights contributed by each of five participating countries. Primary conclusions were that understanding the neurobiology of personal habits such as exercise represents a priority for research for current and future soldiers, affecting performance and long-term brain health consequences to veterans. These health and fitness habits are among the most potent and reliable performance enhancers for soldiers and should be a preferred approach to development of scientifically based recommendations.