Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation on Sleep in Athletes: A Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Sleep disturbances are common among athletes. There is recently a growing interest in improving sleep quality by using noninvasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We hypothesized that bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex anodal tDCS could improve sleep in different sports athletes. A randomized controlled trial is to be conducted to test this hypothesis. Methods: Eighty-four athletes are selected based on specific eligibility criteria and randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. Each participant will receive a 20-min session of bilateral anodal tDCS with an intensity of 1.5 mA (0.057 mA/cm2) in density 3 times a week for 2 weeks. The tDCS current will be delivered only for 30 seconds in the control group. This study’s outcome is a set of subjective and objective sleep parameters. Conclusion: This study assessed the effect of a novel tDCS protocol represented by bilateral anodal stimulation and may result in important advances in sleep management among athletes. Because of the high incidence and impact of athletes’ poor sleep quality, it is particularly important to explore effective interventions.