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Study summary · Sleep, circadian rhythm & stress

Can a novel microcurrent device improve sleep and mood symptoms in individuals with subclinical insomnia?

J Sleep Res · 2023 · PMID 37366366 · DOI 10.1111/jsr.13978

Plain-English summary written and published by Magellan Longevity · medical review by Gabriel Radu, DO (physiatrist, NPI 1376861765). We summarize what the paper reported — we did not run this study.

The takeaway

A microcurrent device improved depression and physical well-being, and altered brain activity, in people with subclinical insomnia, but did not significantly improve sleep more than a sham device.

The question

Can a novel microcurrent device improve sleep and mood symptoms in individuals with subclinical insomnia?

What they tested

The researchers hypothesized that a novel cranial electrotherapy stimulation device providing stable electronic stimulation would improve sleep and accompanying mood symptoms in people with subclinical insomnia.

How they did it

Participants with subclinical insomnia were randomly assigned to either an active or a sham device group. They used the device for 30 minutes, twice daily, for two weeks. Outcome measures included questionnaires for sleep, depression, anxiety, and quality of life, 4-day actigraphy, and 64-channel electroencephalography.

What they found

The active device group showed significant improvement in depression (p = 0.032) and physical well-being (p = 0.041) compared to the sham group. Anxiety also improved in the active group, but not significantly (p = 0.090). Both groups reported significant subjective sleep improvement, with no significant difference between groups. Electroencephalography changes after two weeks were significantly different between groups, particularly for occipital delta (p = 0.008), beta power (p = 0.012), and temporo-parieto-occipital theta (p = 0.022).

P-values for Improvements with Active Device vs. Sham
Values shown: P-value
Depression0.032
Physical Well-being0.041
Anxiety0.09
Occipital Delta Power (EEG)0.008
Occipital Beta Power (EEG)0.012
Temporo-parieto-occipital Theta (EEG)0.022

P-values indicating the significance of improvements in the active device group compared to the sham group for various outcomes.

What it means

Cranial electrotherapy stimulation may be an adjunctive therapy to improve psychological symptoms and alter brain activity.

Limitations

The study's limitations include the need for further investigation into the device's effects in a clinical population and the optimal stimulation parameters.

“cranial electrotherapy stimulation can improve sleep and accompanying mood symptoms”— from the published abstract, J Sleep Res 2023

The paper at a glance

Magellan’s evidence labelmicrocurrent for sleep and mood (our label for this citation — see PubMed for the paper’s own title and authors)
JournalJ Sleep Res
Year2023
PMID37366366 ↗
DOI10.1111/jsr.13978 ↗
TopicSleep, circadian rhythm & stress

Read the source: PubMed record (authors, abstract, full citation) ↗ · Publisher via doi.org ↗

Where Magellan uses this paper

This citation sits behind the evidence grade on the pages below. Grades are set from the research and are independent of affiliate commissions.

Cranial Electrotherapy Stimulator

Supports sleep and psychological wellbeing. Research relevant to this mechanism is indexed on PubMed and linked below; it describes the mechanism rather than this specific product.

Molecules & mechanisms in this paper

Each of these is named in the paper’s own words above. Open the monograph for the full mechanism and its other citations.

Sleep

Cite this page

These citations point at this summary. To cite the original paper with its full author list, use the PubMed record or doi.org.

APA
Magellan Longevity. (2026). Can a novel microcurrent device improve sleep and mood symptoms in individuals with subclinical insomnia? [Plain-English summary of J Sleep Res 2023, PMID 37366366, DOI 10.1111/jsr.13978]. Magellan Longevity. https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s171.html
BibTeX
@misc{magellan_s171, title = {Can a novel microcurrent device improve sleep and mood symptoms in individuals with subclinical insomnia?}, author = {{Magellan Longevity}}, year = {2026}, howpublished = {\url{https://magellanlongevity.com/study/s171.html}}, note = {Plain-English summary of PubMed PMID 37366366; DOI 10.1111/jsr.13978; J Sleep Res 2023. Reviewed by Gabriel Radu, DO}, urldate = {2026-08-11} }
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How this summary was made. Every section above restates what the published abstract of PMID 37366366 reports — the question, the design, the numbers, the authors’ own conclusion and their stated limitations. We do not add claims the paper did not make, and we keep negative and no-effect findings in. Magellan’s evidence grades are set from research like this and never from affiliate commissions.

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Educational information, not medical advice. This is a plain-English summary of published research; it is not a treatment recommendation and nothing here is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Individual studies can be wrong, and a single paper rarely settles a question. Talk to your physician before acting on any research, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, or taking medication.