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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(01): 88-94
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20220029
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Cranial electrostimulation improves slow wave sleep in collegiate population: a polysomnographic study

Anam Aseem 
1   Jamia Millia Islamia, Centre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences - New Delhi - Delhi - India.
,
Neera Chaudhry
2   Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, Department of Neurology - New Delhi - Delhi - India.
,
Mohammed Ejaz Hussain
3   Shree Guru Gobind Singh Tricentenary University, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences - Gurugram - Haryana - India.
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ABSTRACT

Objective: Sleep disturbance is quite prevalent among students, which leads to deleterious consequences on health. Cranial electrostimulation (CES) has been speculated to entrain cortical slow waves; therefore, we investigated the efficacy of cranial electrostimulation to improve slow wave sleep in collegiates.

Methods: Twenty-eight students with Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score >5 were randomly assigned into two groups: CES and control. Participants in CES group completed 60 minutes of CES intervention for 12 weeks with 100 μA microcurrent and 0.5 Hz frequency parameters during night. Pre- and post-intervention measures were taken for sleep architecture using over-night polysomnography (PSG) and sleep quality using PSQI. Participants were instructed to report to the laboratory at 10:00 p.m. and PSG was performed with electroencephalograms (EEG), chin electromyography (EMG) and bilateral electrooculogram (EOG) in place. Sleep stages were scored manually in accordance with the new AASM guidelines. PSG variables reported in the present study are sleep latency (SL), total sleep time (TST), percentage of N1, N2, N3, NREM (non-rapid eye movement), REM (rapid eye movement) and sleep efficiency (SE%).

Results: After ascertaining the comparability of demographic and sleep variables at baseline for both the groups, a 2X2 mixed model ANOVA was employed. Significant between-group differences were obtained for N1% and N3% such that N1% decreased and N3% increased post CES. However, other PSG variables, along with PSQI score did not demonstrate statistically significant between-group difference.

Discussion: The present study demonstrated that 12-weeks of CES improved N3% and reduced N1%. Future researches should be undertaken to build upon the findings of present study.

Keywords:

Sleep - Polysomnography - Students - Slow Wave Sleep


Publication History

Received: 10 May 2021

Accepted: 28 June 2021

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2022. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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