John Mayer on Balancing Music, Philanthropy, and PTSD Advocacy

Key Points:

• John Mayer is currently working on his first album since 2021’s Sob Rock and managing Chaplin Studios, while also dedicating time to his veterans nonprofit, Heart and Armor, which focuses on PTSD research and support.
• Heart and Armor, launched in 2019, has invested around $5 million into scientific studies on veterans' health, producing research on topics like exercise's effect on PTSD, military sexual trauma, and sleep's role in preventing PTSD.
• Mayer’s involvement in Heart and Armor is deeply scientific and long-term, collaborating with experts and showing genuine interest in complex issues like accelerated uterine aging in women veterans and brain functions related to PTSD.
• The nonprofit's current promising research includes studying whether treating insomnia soon after trauma can prevent PTSD and exploring the brain's glymphatic system, emphasizing PTSD as a physical injury rather than just a mental health issue.
• Mayer aims for Heart and Armor’s work to be credible beyond his celebrity status, focusing on creating lasting, scientifically validated impacts that could benefit not only veterans but all trauma survivors.