Integrating sleep health into resilience research

Sleep is a biological necessity that is a critical determinant of mental and physical well-being. Sleep may promote resilience by enhancing an individual's biological preparedness to resist, adapt and recover from a challenge or stressor. This report analyzes currently active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants focussed on sleep and resilience, specifically examining the design of studies that explore sleep as a factor that promotes health maintenance, survivorship, or protective/preventive pathways. A search of NIH R01 and R21 research project grants that received funding in Fiscal Years (FY) 2016-2021 and focussed on sleep and resilience was conducted. A total of 16 active grants from six NIH institutes met the inclusion criteria. Most grants were funded in FY 2021 (68.8%), used the R01 mechanism (81.3%), were observational studies (75.0%), and measured resilience in the context of resisting a stressor/challenge (56.3%). Early adulthood and midlife were most commonly studied and over half of the grants focussed on underserved/underrepresented populations. NIH-funded studies focussed on sleep and resilience, or the ways in which sleep can influence an individual's ability to resist, adapt, or recover from a challenging event. This analysis highlights an important gap and the need to expand research focussed on sleep as a promotor of molecular, physiological, and psychological resilience.