Sleep is fundamental to both physical and mental health, regulating major physiological systems (e.g., cardiovascular, immune, endocrine, metabolic) and supporting cognitive and emotional functioning here we report results of a non-invasive electrical brain stimulation approach using personalized transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) in improving sleep.
A total of 31 participants were recruited for null-stimulation and personalized stimulation within subjects randomized crossed design. The study was conducted with a full PSG measurement in a controlled sleep lab setting. The personalized stimulation modulated neural activity in the theta/alpha bands using a pre-sleep 15 ½ minutes stimulation. The personalization involved using each individual’s peak EEG frequencies in their theta and alpha bands.
Personalized stimulation improved sleep efficiency by 13.4%, and reduced onset latency to 6.7 minutes (a reduction of 54%), and increased the sleep duration by 26.3 minutes.
These results suggest that personalized stimulation improves sleep quality and motivates its potential for helping people suffering from insomnia.