Effects of cranial electrical stimulation on sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and caregiving appraisal in spousal caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease

PurposeThe purpose of this work was to investigate the effects of cranial electrical stimulation (CES) on sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, and caregiving appraisal.MethodsThirty-eight participants were randomly assigned to receive active CES or sham CES for 4 weeks.ResultsBoth intervention groups demonstrated improvement in study measures from baseline scores. A trend toward statistically significant differences in daily sleep disturbances was found between the groups. No differences in depressive symptoms and caregiving appraisal were found between the groups.ConclusionsThese findings did not fully support the efficacy of the short-term use of active CES versus sham CES to improve sleep disturbances, depressive symptoms, or caregiving appraisal.