Have you ever woken up in cold sweat in the middle of the night as your heart beats frantically? Chances are most of us would have at least once, thanks to nightmares. While many with PTSD and sleep disorders experience this frequently, now an app can be their savior!
That’s right! The Apple Watch has introduced a new app called NightWare that would help in treating nightmares. It is a prescription-only app, designed to tackle mental health ailments that trouble one’s sleep.
There has been numerous attempts to treat sleep disorders caused by nightmares before. But, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Nightware to be used along PTSD medications and therapies, under the supervision of a healthcare provider.
How does it work?
The NightWare app makes use of the gyroscope and accelerometer sensors on the Apple Watch. Thus, it efficiently monitors the heart rate and body movements during the user’s sleep. The algorithm on the app uses this data to create a sleep profile.
The app would then be able to recognise if the user is having a nightmare. It would disturb the nightmare without disrupting their sleep by producing vibrations.
This could be one of the many wearables that becomes a part of the larger strategy to treat mental health issues.
Experiments conducted on 70 patients through a sham-controlled (an inactive treatment that closely represens clinical therapy) trial showed improvement in their sleeps when assessed on a Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scale.
The app has been designated as a ”breakthrough device” by the FDA. It also works as an extension to the Sleep Mode and Sleep Tracking in iOS 14 and watchOS7 that encourages healthy sleeping habits in the users.
While the benefits have outweighed probable risks in the experiments, the FDA recommends patients who “act out”, as in engage in sleepwalking or violent activities to not use Nightware. It is yet to receive approval from CDSCO (India Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation)
While the occasional nightmare is scary enough, many patients who suffer from mental health issues like PTSD also faces sleep issues due to frequent nightmares. Now, an app called NightWare has been approved by the FDA to aid healthcare professionals in treating such patients. The app that works o the Apple Watch would disrupt the nightmare without troubling the user’s sleep. While it’s not available in India yet (at the time of writing) the “breakthrough device” might soon change the methods of treatment worldwide.
Don't you think innovation in mental health care is the need of the times?
