Impact of Transcranial Direct Stimulation Current on Sleep Depth among Student-Athletes

Introduction: Several studies have highlighted the glaring lack of sleep among student-athletes. Finding an intervention which will alleviate sleep difficulties is thus important. This study explores the impact of a transcranial direct stimulation current (tDCS) stimulation and the depth of sleep with the Odds Ratio Product (ORP) sleep scoring method among a sample of student-athletes with subclinical sleep issues. Methods: Thirty student-athletes (15 females, 15 males, age 21.1 ± 2.1 years) were recruited. All participants underwent a series of questions to rule out depressive and anxiety disorders or any specific tDCS exclusion criteria. All participants were advised to maintain their usual sleep schedule during the course of the study. Each participant underwent five nights of either tDCS or placebo stimulation. While subjective sleep was scored through a sleep diary, PSG was scored according to the ORP method. Results: Analyses indicated a marginal improvement after experimental tDCS on subjective total sleep time for both men and women and a general gender difference. However, tDCS did not appear to significantly impact the Odds Ratio Product computed from the polysomnographic data. Discussion: Individualized tDCS setting should be further explored because of the observed difference in total sleep time estimation between males and females