A college student watching his father deal with nightmares due to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) created a smartwatch app that was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Using his father as the test subject, Tyler Skluzacek was able to create an app that issues a gentle vibration to pull the dreamer out of the REM cycle yet continue to sleep.
This initiative caught the eye of Grady Hannah, who is now the CEO of NightWare, the name of the company as well as the app. “I learned of NightWare in 2015 through local media,” Grady explains. “I reached out to Tyler, the inventor, and offered to help him build a business together.”
In Grady’s opinion, this new app technology has changed the scope of sleep in PTSD. Nightmares are a serious presentation of PTSD that previously had no effective treatment. “Those living with PTSD are often re-experiencing a trauma that happened to them. Prescribers and patients alike are reaching out proactively because NightWare is serving such a critical need,” Grady states.
NightWare is only available when prescribed by a physician and the application has a formula that is customized to each individual. Grady finishes by adding, “NightWare is excited and humbled to be able to treat patients suffering from Nightmare Disorder and nightmares resulting from PTSD. This is a serious problem and to be the only on-label treatment for nightmares is exciting.”
World Sleep Society does not endorse specific products or services, but rather aims to spread awareness about new and varied forms of treatment for sleep disorders.
