Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Improving Sleep in Inpatient Rehab for Post-Acute Stroke

October 6, 2026 updated by: Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare

The Impact of Vagus Nerve Stimulation on Improving Sleep for Individuals in an Inpatient Rehab Facility for Post-Acute Ischemic Stroke

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a device which provides vagal nerve stimulation, applied to the tragus of the ear via an ear clip, can improve sleep in individuals recovering from stroke while they are treated in a rehabilitation hospital. The main questions this study aims to answer are:

  1. Does using this device improve insomnia?
  2. Does this device have any impact on the person's stroke severity, mobility, self-care, or ability to think? Researchers will compare this treatment to a sham (a look-alike device that will not deliver the stimulation).

Participants will:

  • Complete questionnaires about insomnia and their ability to think
  • Use the device for 30 minutes every evening for at least 10 nights during their inpatient stay
  • Complete a log tracking their use of the device and any concerns

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

For this randomized control trial, all patients admitted to Casa Colina's acute rehabilitation unit with a diagnosis of stroke will be screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria. Participants will be assessed using a cognition screen via the Mini Mental Exam and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), a validated tool for measuring and grading the presence of insomnia. The initial assessments will be completed within the first 3-5 days from admission to the acute rehabilitation unit. Participants will be randomized into the intervention group or sham treatment group. All participants will receive a handout on sleep hygiene. All participants will be instructed around the use of the non-invasive taVNS Parasym device (by Parasym Ltd., London) and the training log which will include reporting of any side effects and any other personal bedtime routines to assist with sleep. In line with previous studies investigating the impact of taVNS on other post-stroke symptoms, the intervention group will be instructed to utilize the Parasym device for 30min daily between 7-9pm for at least 10 days following. Stimulation parameters will be set at 200µs pulse width (with proprietary waveform) and 20Hz. The intensity will be set to level 21 and increased up to 32 as tolerated, but reduced sequentially to intensity level 12 if unable to tolerate due to discomfort. They will include amplitudes 1.0-1.7mA for therapeutic thresholds previously studied in stroke research (Li 2022) and allow for uniformity of application of the device between treatment and sham groups. The sham treatment group will be instructed in using the Parasym device the same way, however, their issued devices will include a sham earpiece that will prevent the transmission of taVNS. Reassessment of the ISI will be completed at 12-15 days, or earlier if the patient discharges prior to this timeline. A short 2-week taVNS program has been reported to have some effect on insomnia (Liu 2025) in a non-stroke population and this timeline has also been chosen as it coincides with the current typical length of stay for individuals post stroke in the acute rehabilitation unit.

All participants of the study will continue to receive the usual care for their individual rehabilitation program including therapy and medication interventions. Additional data will be collected beyond the screening tests including demographic information, stroke location, time since stroke, history of prior stroke, history of diabetes, NIH stroke scale on admission, record of medications that may impact sleep, consult to neurology service, use of respiratory devices on admission or during their rehab course (supplemental O2, CPAP, BiPAP), and GG and C scores of the IRF-PAI for mobility, self-care, and cognition.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

52

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Pomona, California, United States, 91767
        • Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Marie Yeseta, PT, DPT, NCS

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Admitted to Casa Colina's acute rehabilitation service
  2. Diagnosis of ischemic stroke
  3. Age 18 years or older
  4. English or Spanish speaking
  5. Sufficient cognition to follow program instructions tested Mini Mental Exam (score >17/30)
  6. Confirmed sleep abnormalities based on the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) meeting criteria for subthreshold or clinical insomnia (score >7/28)

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Hemorrhagic stroke or hemorrhagic conversion of ischemic stroke
  2. Other confirmed neurological diagnoses
  3. Previous surgical intervention on the vagus nerve
  4. Any open wound or cancerous lesions at the ear within 1 inch of the ear tragus
  5. Contraindication to the device, including patients with severe bradycardia, patients with a permanent implanted metallic or electronic device or jewelry at close proximity (2cm) to the ear tragus, patients with a recent (within 1 year) history of trigeminal neuralgia, pregnancy

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: transauricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation (taVNS)

Participants will be assessed for cognition via the Mini Mental Exam and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The initial assessments will be completed within the first 3-5 days from admission to the acute rehabilitation unit. Participants will receive a handout on sleep hygiene. Participants will be instructed around the use of the non-invasive taVNS Parasym device (by Parasym Ltd., London) and the training log which will include reporting of any side effects and any other personal bedtime routines to assist with sleep. The participant will be instructed to utilize the Parasym device for 30min daily between 7-9pm for at least 10 days following. Reassessment of the ISI will be completed at 12-15 days, or earlier if the patient discharges prior to this timeline. These participants will continue to receive the usual care for their individual rehabilitation program including therapy and medication interventions.
Device: transauricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation

All participants will be instructed around the use of the non-invasive taVNS Parasym device (by Parasym Ltd., London). Participants will be instructed to utilize the Parasym device for 30min daily between 7-9pm for at least 10 days following. Stimulation parameters will be set at 200µs pulse width (with proprietary waveform) and 20Hz. The intensity will be set to level 21 and increased up to 32 as tolerated, but reduced sequentially to intensity level 12 if unable to tolerate due to discomfort. They will include amplitudes 1.0-1.7mA for therapeutic thresholds.
Sham Comparator: Sham transauricular Vagal Nerve Stimulation (Sham taVNS)

Participants will be assessed for cognition via the Mini Mental Exam and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI). The initial assessments will be completed within the first 3-5 days from admission to the acute rehabilitation unit. Participants will receive a handout on sleep hygiene. Participants will be instructed around the use of the non-invasive taVNS Parasym device (by Parasym Ltd., London) and the training log which will include reporting of any side effects and any other personal bedtime routines to assist with sleep. The participant will be instructed to utilize the Parasym device for 30min daily between 7-9pm for at least 10 days following. For this group, their issued devices will include a sham earpiece that will prevent transmission of taVNS. The ISI will be re-assessed at 12-15 days, or earlier if the patient discharges prior to this timeline. Participants will continue to receive the usual care for their individual rehabilitation program, including therapy and medications.
Device: Sham Comparator

All participants will be instructed around the use of the non-invasive taVNS Parasym device (by Parasym Ltd., London). Participants will be instructed to utilize the Parasym device for 30min daily between 7-9pm for at least 10 days following. Stimulation parameters will be set to the same parameters as for the experimental group, however his device will include a sham earpiece that will prevent the transmission of taVNS.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Insomnia Severity Index
Time Frame: Initial assessment on Day 3-5 of their inpatient stay. Reassessment at 12-15 days, or earlier if the patient discharges prior to this timeline.

A brief screening tool for insomnia including seven items assessing the nature and symptoms of their sleep issues. Questions relate to the responder's sleep, symptom severity and satisfaction with their sleep, as well as the effect of their insomnia on daily function, social impact, and overall distress related to their sleep. Each question is answered on a 5-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 0-28, with a higher score indicating worse insomnia severity.
Initial assessment on Day 3-5 of their inpatient stay. Reassessment at 12-15 days, or earlier if the patient discharges prior to this timeline.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) Admission and Discharge Scores - GG and C sections
Time Frame: Assessed within 48 hours of admission, re-assessed at discharge (with a typical length of stay of 12 to 15 days).

Standardized assessments by the healthcare team regarding level of assistance required by the participant for mobility, self-care, and cognition. The GG section assesses self-care (7 items) and mobility (17 items) on a scale from 1-6, with a higher number indicating greater independence. If a participant is unwilling or unsafe to perform an activity, or if the activity is not applicable or there is an environmental limitation, special codes can be applied.

The C section of the IRF-PAI assesses cognition via the Brief Interview for Mental Status comprising repetition of 3 words, temporal orientation, and recall. Participants are scored in this section from 1-15 with a higher score indicating better cognition. The presence of any acute-onset mental status change is considered here.
Assessed within 48 hours of admission, re-assessed at discharge (with a typical length of stay of 12 to 15 days).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare

Investigators

  • Study Director: Emily Rosario, PhD, Casa Colina Hospital and Centers for Healthcare

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

October 16, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 16, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 16, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 29, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

October 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 6, 2026

Last Verified

October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • SleepVNS

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

Yes

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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