Improving Sleep Quality, Daytime Sleepiness, and Cognitive Function in Patients with Dementia by Therapeutic Exercise and NESA Neuromodulation: A Multicenter Clinical Trial

Esther Teruel-Hernández (), José Antonio López-Pina, Sonia Souto-Camba, Aníbal Báez-Suárez, Raquel Medina-Ramírez and Antonia Gómez-Conesa
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Esther Teruel-Hernández: International School of Doctoral Studies, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
José Antonio López-Pina: Faculty of Psychology, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Sonia Souto-Camba: Department of Physiotherapy, Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of A Coruña, 15006 A Coruña, Spain
Aníbal Báez-Suárez: Health Science Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas, Spain
Raquel Medina-Ramírez: SocDig Research Group, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35016 Las Palmas, Spain
Antonia Gómez-Conesa: Research Methods and Evaluation in the Social Sciences Research Group, Mare Nostrum Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 21, 1-18

Abstract: Dementia is a progressive decline in cognitive functions caused by an alteration in the pattern of neural network connections. There is an inability to create new neuronal connections, producing behavioral disorders. The most evident alteration in patients with neurodegenerative diseases is the alteration of sleep–wake behavior. The aim of this study was to test the effect of two non-pharmacological interventions, therapeutic exercise (TE) and non-invasive neuromodulation through the NESA device (NN) on sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and cognitive function of 30 patients diagnosed with dementia (non-invasive neuromodulation experimental group (NNG): mean ± SD, age: 71.6 ± 7.43 years; therapeutic exercise experimental group (TEG) 75.2 ± 8.63 years; control group (CG) 80.9 ± 4.53 years). The variables were evaluated by means of the Pittsburg Index (PSQI), the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Mini-Cognitive Exam Test at four different times during the study: at baseline, after 2 months (after completion of the NNG), after 5 months (after completion of the TEG), and after 7 months (after 2 months of follow-up). Participants in the NNG and TEG presented significant improvements with respect to the CG, and in addition, the NNG generated greater relevant changes in the three variables with respect to the TEG (sleep quality ( p = 0.972), daytime sleepiness ( p = 0.026), and cognitive function ( p = 0.127)). In conclusion, with greater effects in the NNG, both treatments were effective to improve daytime sleepiness, sleep quality, and cognitive function in the dementia population.

Keywords: dementia; new technologies; physiotherapy; sleep quality; physical activity; neuromodulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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