NightWare was created to help America’s military veterans get a good night’s sleep.
It’s a digital-therapeutic system that works in conjunction with the Apple Watch and iPhone — could this be Apple’s next acquisition? — to disrupt nightmares related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Available by prescription only, it’s the first and only digital therapeutic specifically to treat nightmares that is cleared by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
NightWare uses information from the Apple Watch heart-rate sensor, accelerometer, and gyroscope to detect a nightmare and then disrupt it through haptic feedback. It generates gentle pulses on the wrist that gradually increase until the user is roused from the nightmare, but not from sleep.
The prototype for this system was created by Tyler Skluzacek in 2015, when he was studying computer science at Macalester College in Minnesota. Tyler’s father had developed PTSD during his two-decade military career — eighty-percent of those with PTSD experience nightmares and, if left untreated, they increase the risk of suicide by as much as 500% — and Tyler wanted to see if technology could offer a solution. The concept was based on the way a service dog gently nudges its owner to help stop a nightmare.
With its system, NightWare is targeting the markets for PTSD treatment and sleep disorders. The PTSD market is projected to reach nineteen billion dollars by 2032, while the U.S. market for sleep disorders is projected to reach seventy-eight billion dollars by 2033.
Those suffering from PTSD and nightmares often resort to drugs or talk therapy as solutions. But these aren’t effective for everyone and come with intolerable side effects.
In a published study in the Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Disorders, twenty-two percent of NightWare users experienced an excellent or life-changing result. And close to seventy percent reported at least some clinical benefit.
NightWare can be used alongside other treatments for nightmares and PTSD. And it can improve sleep quality within two weeks.
NightWare has received FDA clearance for its system and more than 1,500 users have been prescribed NightWare for help. The company has generated more than seven million dollars in sales to-date, including more than four million dollars in 2024.
NightWare has secured a $640,000 clinical-trial grant and was selected for the Veterans Affairs Pathfinder Innovation Pilot, an incubator/accelerator for ideas to help out veterans.