Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

The INSIGHT study is a multi-site clinical research program designed to examine how insomnia and symptoms of sympathetic hyperactivity impair sleep, cognition, and physiological restoration in warfighters, and to evaluate whether a wearable therapeutic device can improve these outcomes. Warfighters with a history of traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, or chronic operational stress commonly report disrupted sleep accompanied by manifestations of nocturnal sympathetic activation such as diaphoresis, palpitations, hyperarousal, and nightmares. These symptoms erode sleep quality, reduce cognitive performance, and undermine psychological resilience and operational readiness. Insomnia is two to three times more common in military populations than in civilians, and both TBI and PTSD independently elevate the risk for dysregulated autonomic tone. Excessive sympathetic activity during REM sleep disrupts the normally quiescent locus coeruleus state required for adaptive emotional processing and may contribute to the genesis of nightmares. Excessive sympathetic tone may also interfere with deep NREM-dependent glymphatic clearance, a recently discovered mechanism that supports cognitive restoration and metabolic waste removal. Yet, no study has comprehensively linked these physiological processes in warfighters or evaluated whether wearable-derived autonomic measures can meaningfully stratify insomnia phenotypes. The INSIGHT protocol addresses this gap through a two-phase design integrating multimodal biomarker collection, wearable technology validation, advanced imaging, and a randomized controlled intervention. Phase 1 enrolls 250 participants (50 healthy controls and 200 poor sleepers with or without PTSD and TBI) who undergo structured screening, cognitive testing, and detailed baseline assessments before completing a 2-week at-home data collection period. During this period, participants wear a suite of devices, including EEG headbands, ECG patches, PPG-based sensors, accelerometry rings, blood pressure devices, temperature sensors, and smartwatches, to capture autonomic activity, sleep architecture, cardiovascular and respiratory variability, movement, sudomotor activity, and circadian body temperature patterns. Ecological momentary assessments administered three times daily track fluctuations in sleep quality, mood, PTSD symptoms, and daytime functioning, while urine samples collected on the final three days allow for biochemical analysis of hormonal and sympathetic biomarkers. After the at-home period, all participants complete an overnight in-lab polysomnogram combined with fNIRS to measure sleep stages, autonomic dynamics, cerebral hemodynamics, and glymphatic signatures. A subset of participants also completes an optional overnight MRI with simultaneous EEG following controlled sleep deprivation, enabling state-of-the-art imaging of human glymphatic activity using the MAGNUS MRI platform. This optional visit provides unprecedented insight into how TBI, PTSD, and insomnia alter the physiology of sleep-dependent brain fluid dynamics. In Phase 2, all poor sleepers enter a double-blind, sham-controlled, 30-day randomized trial testing the therapeutic potential of the NightWare smartwatch. NightWare detects sympathetic surges during sleep through heart rate elevations and movement patterns and delivers brief haptic vibrations aimed at interrupting escalating autonomic arousal. Although originally cleared for nightmare treatment, its mechanism is well suited for SNH-related insomnia more broadly. Participants use the device daily while continuing EMA surveys, wearable monitoring, and cognitive assessments, generating rich physiological and behavioral data throughout the intervention. The primary goal is to determine whether reducing nocturnal sympathetic spikes leads to measurable improvements in sleep quality, autonomic stability, daytime functioning, and symptom burden. In parallel, Phase 2 data enable development of the Multi-Organ Autonomic Index of Sleep, an integrated biomarker model that combines neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, and dermal signals to predict treatment response and classify insomnia subtypes.
The INSIGHT study will produce the most comprehensive dataset to date linking autonomic physiology, glymphatic function, sleep architecture, wearable-derived biomarkers, cognition, and clinical outcomes in warfighters. By identifying physiological signatures of sympathetic hyperarousal and determining whether a non-pharmacological wearable intervention can meaningfully improve sleep, INSIGHT directly supports Department of Defense priorities to enhance readiness, resilience, and long-term neurological health in service members. Wearable tools capable of monitoring and improving sleep outside the laboratory have the potential to transform both clinical care and operational performance, offering scalable and accessible approaches to restoring sleep and optimizing recovery.

The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether a minimally invasive microneedle patch, called the A-Band (Smart Band-aid), worn on the arm (monitoring key biomarkers in interstitial fluid) and a commercial smartwatch can accurately correlate with self-reported pain in women with chronic pain. A secondary purpose of the study is to identify demographic and clinical variables impacting pain measurement.
The main questions that this study aims to answer are:
* What is the correlation between AI-adjusted pain scores, based on biomarkers and validated tools, and self-reported pain scores?
* What influence do demographic and clinical information have in the correlation of these pain scores?
Researchers will compare data from these tools with self-reported pain scores in women with chronic pain and healthy women.
Participants will:
* Be a part of the study for approximately 8 days
* Attend 2-3 in-person visits at the applicable clinical center over approximately one week
* Wear a Smart Band-Aid (A-Band) at least twice per day for a week, with each application lasting up to 90 minutes
* Complete questionnaires regarding medical history, pain information, mental health, sleep, and demographic data
* Record daily pain scores
* Wear a smartwatch for one week which will collect biophysical data (heart rate, skin response, etc.)
* Collect daily saliva samples
* Have blood drawn by medical staff at 2 in-person visits

Multi-ligament knee injuries (MLKIs) can occur during military training, sports injuries, or traumatic events such as motor vehicle accidents and can be devastating events. These complex injuries involving disruption of 2 or more ligaments often coincide with injuries to arteries, nerves, tendons, menisci, and/or fractures and can be devastating events. MLKIs often require complex treatments nearly 2 in 5 patients suffer complications after surgery. Loss of knee range of motion is the most common complication and is associated with military separation. There are also long-term effects of motion loss, as the need for motion-restoring surgery after MLKI is associated with an increased risk of osteoarthritis within 5 years of surgery. A person's ability to perform both activities of daily living and higher demand physical activities is often impaired both in the short and long term. In fact, only 1 in 3 people return to high-level sport after MLKI. The purpose of this translational randomized clinical trial is to determine if a 30-day course of oral Losartan improves a person's ability to return to work or sport, range of motion and strength, and reduce knee inflammation in the first year after surgical treatment of an MLKI.