Sleep deprivation is one of the worst disorders because it can affect all aspects of your life including your mental and physical performance. Working to get back to a normal sleep schedule and repairing your circadian rhythm takes a lot of work, often requiring various treatments. It is often associated with psychiatric diseases such as major depression and general anxiety disorder. Chronic insomnia is estimated to affect 4-48% of the general population (Zhou et al., 2021). Treatment can include a Z drug prescription or by treating the comorbid disease (i.e. major depression and cognitive behavioral therapy). Z drugs act to increase the GABA transmission on GABA Type A receptors (similar to benzodiazepines) (Gunja, 2013). This has a sedative effect which can help individuals fall asleep quicker. Meanwhile, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help correct maladaptive and intrusive thoughts about certain behaviors (American Psychological Association, 2017). This cognitive reappraisal can lead to decreased over brain stimulation and more restful sleep due to reduced invasive thoughts. These pharmacological and psychological therapies can decrease sleeplessness, however, their effects are not always guaranteed. Therefore, it is important to continue research into new alternative therapies that can aid in restlessness and insomnia.
Zhou et al. (2021) researched the effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) on insomnia. The electrical activity in the cerebral cortex is regulated by the tACS and has been previously used to treat other psych disorders. The administered current was 15 mA at 77.5 Hz for 40 minutes five times a week. The total treatment was two rounds of 4 weeks, totaling 26.6 hours of electrical stimulation. This offers an inexpensive and non-invasive which is a welcome alternative to the often costly and long-term treatments of CBT or Z-drugs. tACS was administered for two 4 week interventions and resulted in a 77.2% remission rate for the first round. The entire eight weeks resulted in increased sleep efficiency and quality. Total sleep time increased by 0.12 hours per week and sleep onset was quicker by 7 minutes on average (Zhou et al., 2021).
tACS is a promising alternative therapy that requires more research on the long term effects upon sleeplessness and restlessness. However, the preliminary research shows promising results that it can improve overall quality and length of sleep. The major downside is the total amount of time spent with electrodes. Personally, I think that the cons do not outweigh the reported benefits of tACS. Hopefully with more research, tACS can be widely offered as an quick and efficient alternative to pharmacological treatments and other psychological therapies.
I notice a huge difference in my ability to function during the day depending on how well I slept the night before. It’s amazing to me how something as simple as getting a good night’s sleep can fix or prevent many health problems. I think having a (mostly) healthy diet and sleeping are some of the best preventative remedies and yet so often we neglect these things. It’s nice to hear there are therapies that help people who suffer from insomnia, hopefully we will continue to find more solutions that are more consistent. The one job I worked where I had to wake up super early definitely took a toll on my mental health, luckily it was only short term until my schedule returned to my regular hours. I wouldn't want to know what it's like to constantly struggle to get decent sleep so I hope after continued research there will be more pros than cons with this therapy.
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