Abstract
The insomnia has negative impact on mental health, physical productivity, and overall quality of life for individuals and communities. Insomnia frequently goes undiagnosed and untreated due to therapies and management barriers. Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation is a non-invasive neurostimulation intervention that targets the afferent auricular branch of the vagus nerve in the auricular concha, specifically the cymba concha
Vagus nerve electrical stimulation (VNS) has been used in the treatment of refractory epilepsy, depression, and insomnia. Transcutaneous devices have been deployed successfully in intractable epilepsy, significant depression, post-stroke rehabilitation, and the general geriatric population.
At this moment, treatments for insomnia include cognitive behavioral and pharmacological therapies, including benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines, as well as alternative therapies like acupuncture. However, the therapeutic use of medications for sleep disorders must be used cautiously, with obvious worries about the occurrence of side effects such as dependence and drowsiness.
In this review we are exploring the role of noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation as an add on therapeutic tool in insomnia patients.