Minneapolis, MN, Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- San Francisco police officers and firefighters with PTSD who used NightWare, a prescription wearable that interrupts nightmares, reported fewer and less distressing nightmares over 60 days in a peer-reviewed pilot published Sept. 9 in Frontiers in Sleep, the first published results for the device outside military and veteran populations.
Key takeaways:
- Average nightmare-related distress fell by more than half, from 2.9 to 1.3 on a 0-4 scale, where 3 is "quite a bit distressed" and 1 is "a little distressed." Nine of ten participants improved; none got worse.
- Nightmares fell from an average of 5.2 nights a week to 3.6, and 70% of participants had fewer nightmare nights.
- Self-rated sleep quality more than doubled, from 1.8 to 4.0 on a 5-point scale. When the 60-day pilot ended, nine of ten participants chose to keep using NightWare.
First responders carry some of the heaviest trauma exposure of any workforce. The paper cites research putting PTSD prevalence among rescue workers at roughly 10%, several times the general population, and a 2023 study in which 53% of active first responders reported trauma-related nightmare distress in the previous week. Until now, the only published evidence for NightWare came from active-duty service members and veterans.
The authors note that first responders differ from those groups: rather than a deployment with a beginning and an end, they face repeated traumatic incidents across a career and return to duty in the same communities where those events occurred.
"A soldier eventually comes home from the deployment. A police officer goes back to the same streets the next shift. We were curious if NightWare could create a similar impact for first responders and public safety, and this is a strong indication it can," said Brian Robertson, MD, chief medical officer of NightWare and the study's first author.
Most of the drop in nightmare frequency arrived by day 30 and held, while distress kept falling through day 60. Participants wore the device on 76% of nights on average, and treatment satisfaction rose from 2.2 to 4.5 on a 5-point scale over the same period.
Ten people completed this open-label, single-arm study and outcomes were self-reported by patients using a consistent survey. The authors call the results consistent with previous findings and say controlled studies with validated instruments are needed. Within those limits, the effects on both primary measures were large and statistically significant. Individual results may vary.
NightWare is the first and only FDA-cleared prescription digital therapeutic indicated for the temporary reduction of sleep disturbance related to nightmares in adults 22 years or older who suffer from nightmare disorder or have nightmares from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The wrist-worn system delivers short vibrations intended to interrupt nightmares without fully waking the user. It is not a standalone therapy for PTSD and is intended for use alongside prescribed medications and other recommended therapies.
“For years, our focus has been on veterans and active-duty service members. Seeing these results with San Francisco’s police officers and firefighters is a great step towards bringing this relief to every first responder who faces trauma shift after shift, and we are committed to expanding access to everyone who needs it.” said Matthew Tucker, CEO of NightWare.
Clinicians, first responder organizations, and reporters can review the findings directly. The full paper is available to read here.
About NightWare, Inc.
NightWare, Inc. is a Minneapolis-based digital health company and developer of the only FDA-cleared prescription digital therapeutic indicated for nightmare disorder in adults with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The NightWare system pairs a wrist-worn system with a proprietary AI application to monitor sleep physiology and deliver personalized, non-awakening vibrotactile interventions that disrupt the nightmare cycle. NightWare holds De Novo 510(k) FDA clearance and Breakthrough Device Designation. The company serves patients across the VA health system, commercial, and direct-pay channels and is currently executing a national VA Pathfinder Innovation Pilot. NightWare is a prescription device. It is not a standalone therapy for PTSD and should be used in conjunction with clinician-directed care. Individual results may vary. www.nightware.com
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