The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Reengineering Enabling Sleep Transitions in Operationally Restrictive Environments (RESTORE) program. The Proposers Day will be held on March 14, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (Eastern Time) in Arlington, VA. The event will be webcast for those who would like to participate remotely. Advance registration is required for attending the Proposers Day in person and viewing the webcast. Note that all times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time.
The RESTORE program seeks to demonstrate precision control of sleep macro- and microarchitectures to optimize cognitive performance following sleep restriction, a common occurrence in combat operations. Service member responsibilities frequently result in less than 3 hours of sleep during combat and less than 6 hours during regular duty, which can significantly impair their performance and effectiveness. Warfighters are often prescribed hypnotics to help them sleep and stimulants to improve daytime performance, both of which have significant drawbacks and risks in operational environments, including impaired cognitive function, rebound insomnia, and a high potential for misuse.
To address this challenge, RESTORE will leverage recent advancements in noninvasive neuromodulation to develop innovative solutions for enhancing sleep efficiency to maintain cognitive performance under sleep-restricted conditions. Recent breakthroughs in noninvasive neuromodulation have enabled the targeting of specific brain regions and patterns that drive distinct sleep stages, allowing for unprecedented control over the entire sleep cycle. By building on these developments, RESTORE aims to precisely regulate and optimize multiple stages of sleep, surpassing the limitations of single-stage stimulation and unlocking the full DARPA-SN-25-56 RESTORE Proposers Day potential of sleep for cognitive restoration. Combining noninvasive neuromodulation with advances in sensory stimulation will allow for precision control of sleep macro- and microarchitectures to enable optimal sleep quality and cognitive function. This will provide a safer and more effective alternative to traditional medications for maintaining cognitive performance in operational environments where sleep is limited, thereby enhancing the readiness, resilience, and performance of military service members in these challenging conditions.