ARPA-H REST (Restorative & health-Enhancing Sleep Time) Program
Below is a brief summary. Please check the full solicitation before applying (link in resources section).
Executive Summary:
ARPA-H is seeking ambitious teams to develop the next generation of sleep technologies through the Restorative & health-Enhancing Sleep Time (REST) program.
The program aims to redefine sleep as a measurable and controllable biological system by funding technologies that can objectively measure sleep quality at home, diagnose poor sleep (with a primary emphasis on insomnia), and deliver personalized, real-time interventions throughout the night.
REST is structured around two technical areas:
Technical Area 1 (TA1): Measure & Diagnose
Technical Area 2 (TA2): Control & Treat
ARPA-H is specifically looking for interdisciplinary teams that combine expertise across areas such as sleep medicine, neuroscience, AI/ML, biosensing, wearable technologies, neuromodulation, clinical research, and regulatory strategy.
A Solution Summary is required before a team can be invited to submit a full proposal.
Application deadline: August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET.
How much funding would I receive?
The solicitation does not specify award amounts, award ranges, total program funding, or the number of awards anticipated, but typical ARPA-H awards range anywhere from $5 million to $50 million.
ARPA-H states that awards may be made through Other Transaction (OT) agreements.
What could I use the funding for?
Funding may be used to develop technologies within one or both of the following Technical Areas.
Technical Area 1 (TA1): Measure & Diagnose
Consumer-grade in-home sleep monitoring systems
Wearable or nearable sleep sensing technologies
Sleep microstructure measurement technologies
Mechanistic insomnia subtype classification systems
In-home diagnostic systems
Personalized sleep-related health risk prediction tools
Human factors and usability validation
Integration with broader REST program resources
Technical Area 2 (TA2): Control & Treat
Closed-loop sleep intervention systems
Noninvasive neuromodulation technologies
Real-time physiological monitoring and feedback systems
Adaptive treatment algorithms
Personalized sleep intervention technologies
Human subjects research
Safety and tolerability validation
Regulatory and commercialization planning
Examples of technologies referenced in the solicitation include:
Wearable EEG
Smartwatches
Rings
In/under-mattress sensors
WiFi signal analysis
Haptics
Acoustics
Transcranial electrical stimulation
Focused ultrasound
Targeted nerve stimulation
Are there any additional benefits I would receive?
Potential benefits include:
Access to shared REST program resources
Access to large-scale harmonized sleep datasets as they become available
Participation in program-wide benchmarking efforts
Support from a Research Integrator focused on interoperability and transition planning
Independent verification and validation support
Opportunities to collaborate with other REST performers
The solicitation also anticipates support for future clinical translation and commercialization activities.
What is the timeline to apply and when would I receive funding?
Key dates currently identified in the solicitation are:
Solicitation released: June 16, 2026
Proposers' Day: July 13, 2026
Solution Summary Deadline: August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET
Full Proposal: By invitation only following Solution Summary review
Full Proposal Due Date: Not specified in the solicitation
Important notes:
Submission of a Solution Summary is mandatory.
Only selected Solution Summaries will be invited to submit a Full Proposal.
Submission of a Solution Summary does not guarantee invitation to submit a Full Proposal.
Award timing is not specified in the solicitation.
Program duration:
66 months (5.5 years)
Phase 1: Months 1–24
Phase 2: Months 25–42
Phase 3: Months 43–66
The Solution Summary deadline is August 12, 2026 at 12pm ET.
Where does this funding come from?
Funding comes from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) through the Proactive Health Office (PHO).
Program:
Restorative & health-Enhancing Sleep Time (REST)
Solicitation Number:
ARPA-H-SOL-26-159
Award Instrument:
Other Transaction (OT)
Who is eligible to apply?
ARPA-H states it is primarily interested in proposals from:
Commercial performers
Academic institutions
Non-profit organizations
Additional requirements include:
Work must be conducted in the United States
Active SAM.gov registration is required
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is required
Restrictions include:
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are generally not permitted to participate as prime or sub-performers except under limited exceptions
Government entities, including federal employees, are generally not permitted to respond
ARPA-H will not make awards to entities organized under the laws of a covered foreign country per 42 U.S.C. 290c(n)(1)(D)
Non-domestic performers are encouraged to collaborate with a domestic entity.
What companies and projects are likely to win?
Based on the solicitation, competitive proposals are likely to:
Focus on insomnia as a primary use case
Deliver objective, physiological measurement of sleep quality
Demonstrate clinically meaningful home-based performance
Combine multiple technical disciplines
Incorporate AI/ML approaches
Include strong commercialization pathways
Demonstrate integration with the broader REST ecosystem
Provide clear plans for data sharing, benchmarking, and interoperability
Show a credible path toward clinical translation
ARPA-H specifically encourages teams spanning:
Sleep medicine
Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Biomedical engineering
Wearable and in-home biosensing
Signal processing
Machine learning
Neuromodulation
Clinical trials
Regulatory science
For TA1, proposals should also include a credible industry cost-share strategy as technologies mature toward commercialization.
Are there any restrictions I should know about?
Out-of-scope TA1 activities include:
General wellness tracking only
Sleep hygiene tools only
Conventional sleep scoring without a credible path to diagnosis, mechanistic characterization, or health-relevant prediction
Out-of-scope TA2 activities include:
Pharmacologic treatment-only approaches
Non-personalized interventions
Systems that do not use objective physiological measurements to adapt treatment
For both Technical Areas:
Standalone infrastructure efforts without direct contribution to REST research objectives are out of scope
Additional requirements include:
Human subjects research approvals
Participation in program coordination activities
Benchmarking and integration activities
Compliance with research security reviews
Compliance with negotiated intellectual property and data rights requirements
How long will it take me to prepare an application?
The required Solution Summary is limited to:
Maximum 6 pages for a single Technical Area
Maximum 8 pages for proposals covering both Technical Areas
Required content includes:
Technical Area selection
Technical approach
Team qualifications
Key risks and mitigations
Rough order of magnitude budget
Preliminary cost-share strategy for TA1 applicants
Because REST emphasizes interdisciplinary teams, commercialization planning, human subjects considerations, regulatory strategy, and technical integration, applicants should expect substantial coordination and preparation effort.
The solicitation does not estimate preparation time.
How can BW&CO help?
BW&CO can support:
Opportunity qualification
Teaming strategy
Technical narrative development
Solution Summary preparation
Commercialization strategy development
Cost-share strategy development for TA1 applicants
Proposal management
Full Proposal preparation if invited
Pitch preparation and coaching
Reviewer-style compliance reviews
