SleepSmartz

PROJECT PURPOSE

Veterans who are seriously struggling with suicide can?t sleep. SleepSmartz will produce audio sleep sessions, accessed through an app, that combine proven relaxation techniques with recovery principles for Suicidal Ideation, saving the lives of veterans struggling with insomnia & suicidal thoughts. When set to calming meditation music, these sessions will be effective in helping veterans replace the thoughts that lead to suicide while inducing deep sleep. This project has very strong support in Oklahoma veteran leadership (General Rita Aragon, Master Chief Van Schuyver, etc.) and in both the Oklahoma Senate and House. In 2020, SleepSmartz Chief Scientific Officer, Lowell Robertson, M.D. Addiction Medicine, supervised the production of 84 sleep sessions for Opioid, Alcohol and Meth addiction, based on the 12 Step program, helping those struggling with substance abuse get the sleep they need. SleepSmartz will partner with a veteran treatment center that successfully helps veterans overcome Suicidal Ideation. This partner will provide effective recovery principles for Suicidal Ideation that we will include in our sleep sessions. We have already identified potential veteran treatment center partners. Research demonstrates that a full night?s sleep is vital to avoiding COVID infection. Also, restorative sleep increases the effectiveness of COVID vaccines.

EVIDENCE

None

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Veterans in the state of Oklahoma and worldwide. Especially veterans (including active duty), who struggle with suicidal ideation. The research is clear: ?Subjects with clinically significant insomnia symptoms were approximately 3 times more likely to report thoughts of death and thoughts of suicide.? -- Insomnia Symptoms and Suicide-Related Ideation in U.S. Army ? Journal of Behavioral Sleep Medicine ? Nov - Dec 2020. Veterans who are seriously considering suicide can?t sleep and veterans who can?t sleep are 300% more likely to consider suicide. In addition, after producing sleep sessions for veterans struggling with suicide, SleepSmartz will produce sleep sessions for veterans with PTSD. Because our sleep sessions are accessed through a mobile app, these sleep sessions will actually help veterans in Oklahoma and worldwide. Everywhere they are stationed. Veterans are strongly impacted by COVID-19. And sleep affects both COVID-19 vulnerability and COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness. An article in the U.S. Army Times titled, ?A Full Night of Sleep Could Be Your Best Defense Against COVID-19? makes this point well. Another article titled, ?Good sleep: The Secret To Increasing The Effectiveness Of Covid-19 Vaccine? states that getting good sleep can boost the body?s antibody response thereby increasing the effectiveness of Covid vaccines.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

SleepSmartz? Chief Scientific Officer, Lowell Robertson, M.D. Addiction Medicine, is exceptional in medical research. He will conduct all aspects of the sleep session clinical testing. He is a professor at the OSU Center For Wellness and Recovery in Tulsa. For the clinical testing of these sleep sessions for veterans, at least 50 veterans who struggle with suicidal ideation will be included in the clinical testing. Two techniques will be initially employed: cross sectional by means of a survey and one on one interviews. A delayed post followup interview will be included three months after the initial interview.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma