Maximizing Sleep Quality and Efficiency using Neurotechnology

Military operations require sustained performance in challenging environments where vigilance, memory, decision-making are impaired by sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality. Evidence reveals that “power-naps” (10-20 minutes) taken throughout the day can ameliorate some effects of sleep deprivation. Additionally, the stages of sleep as measured by the EEG have been shown to differentially affect aspects of health, alertness, and memory. This knowledge cannot be applied in environments with non-optimal napping conditions. This proposal addresses this challenge, incorporating state-of-the-art sleep knowledge into a platform technology to facilitate optimal napping. The “NapCap,” designed around the Advanced Brain Monitoring’s (ABM) EEG Headset, incorporates bi-directional gating of sensory modalities to accomplish three goals—decrease sleep latency, increase sleep efficiency, and determine the best time to awaken. ABM’s Headset weighs 3-ounces and is powered by two AAA batteries. The envisioned NapCap will weigh ~8-ounces with battery life for ten 1-hour naps and fold into a small pouch (approximately 7”x3”x3”). The final NapCap will include real-time sleep staging that, in combination with knowledge of nap optimization, will trigger the components to encourage or discourage sleep process and stages. The investigators also anticipate that as new research discoveries are reported, NapCap will evolve to incorporate these findings.