Written by Rob Cooley, CEO and Co-Founder

This is an emergency. More than two-thirds of military personnel and veterans suffer from chronic sleep problems, and the crisis is spiraling out of control. This is not just a problem—this is an epidemic that is costing lives, degrading mission readiness, and breaking our force from the inside out. The military lifestyle forces us to extremes, training us to “own the night” and glorifying the reckless notion of “sleep when we are dead.” From basic training to relentless combat deployments, and even after retirement, sleep remains a casualty of service. This must stop now.

Chronic sleep deprivation is not just dangerous—it is deadly. Studies from every military branch, the Government Accountability Office, and top universities prove that sleep is critical to Warfighter performance, decision-making, stamina, and resilience. Yet, despite overwhelming evidence, the military fails to treat sleep like the mission-critical necessity it is. The tools available today to assess and measure sleep are outdated, ineffective, and flat-out failing us. As a result, we are sending exhausted troops into battle, endangering lives, and undermining national security. More than 50% of all military accidents are caused by fatigued Warfighters. THIS IS A CRISIS.

Despite every effort to maximize sleep, it remains woefully insufficient. Fatigue management strategies like sleep mission planning, time zone adaptation, and unit-wide sleep prioritization sound good in theory but fall apart in real-world operations. The best plans collapse at first contact with the enemy. Personal sleep management must become a core, non-negotiable element of military culture—not an afterthought.

The so-called gold standard of sleep assessment, electroencephalogram (EEG), is outdated and impractical. Strapping electrodes to the head in a clinical setting is not an option for those in the field. Doctors are making lifelong diagnoses based on a single night of poor sleep in an artificial environment. Even if EEGs were reliable, they are completely useless in real-world military operations nor in daily activities.

Consumer sleep devices like Apple Watch, Whoop, Fitbit, and Samsung are grossly inadequate. Most people take them off at night to charge, and they provide nothing more than vague, directionally correct estimates. High-tech mattresses that track snoring? A gimmick. NONE of these solutions provide the accurate, actionable intelligence we need.

Lack of sleep isn’t just making us tired—it’s killing us. Sleep disturbances are a red flag for severe mental health crises. Chronic sleep deprivation, combined with financial stress, relationship breakdowns, trauma, pain, and loss of camaraderie, is fueling a mental health catastrophe. Veterans spend billions of dollars each year chasing solutions, yet the problem keeps getting worse. The cycle of failed devices, treatments and supplements only deepens the exhaustion, the frustration, and the despair. If we don’t act now, more lives will be lost.

Nuream is taking action now, leading from the front. We refuse to stand by while military personnel and veterans suffer. Our sleep solutions today, available at nuream.com, are designed specifically for military needs. Handcrafted in the USA from the highest-quality, all-natural, hypoallergenic materials, these products provide immediate relief and superior sleep performance.

In 2026, we are revolutionizing sleep science with our groundbreaking Fabric as a Sensor™ (FaaS™) technology. This is a game-changer. With FaaS™, simply resting your head on a pillow in your own bed will deliver precise, real-time sleep data—no wires, no wearables, no guesswork. By tracking individual sleep stages over time, we will uncover personalized paths to better sleep. And by analyzing the sleep patterns of thousands of Warfighters, we will identify those in urgent need of intervention.

This is bigger than any one person. This is about saving lives. This is about mission readiness. This is about ensuring the strength and resilience of our military force. Information is power, and we are delivering it where it matters most. Together we can make a difference in the lives of so many.

We in the military and veteran community have sacrificed enough. We refuse to let sleep deprivation continue to destroy our health and our lives. The time for waiting is over. The time for action is NOW. Join the Nuream movement. Demand better. Fight for your health. Fight for your future and those of your battle buddies. Let’s end this epidemic—together, once and for all.

References:
1. Army Magazine, July 2024; “Snooze Alarm: Sleep Loss Can Have Deadly Consequences” https://www.ausa.org/articles/snooze-alarm-sleep-loss-can-have-deadly-consequences

2. Russell, DW; Markwald, RR and Jameson, JT. “Self-reported sleep and sleep deficiency: Results from a large initiative of sailors attached to U.S. Navy warships.” Journal of Sleep Research 2021; 30(6): e13397. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34187090/ 

3. Government Accountability Office. “Navy Readiness: Challenges to Addressing Sailor Fatigue in the Surface Fleet Continue.” GAO-24-106819, 2023. https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106819