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Electrical Grounding and Sleep Quality in Hospitalised Patients With Cancer

NCT07791628 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 25

Last updated 2026-08-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Sleep disturbance is one of the most common and most persistent symptoms in patients admitted for cancer care, and the options available during a short hospital stay are limited. The human body is electrically conductive, so an alternating potential - known as body voltage - is induced on the skin by mains wiring and appliances near the bed. Body voltage can be lowered by connecting the body to earth, and higher body voltage has been reported to be associated with lower vagal (parasympathetic) tone.

This randomised, sham-controlled trial tested whether nightly electrical grounding improves sleep quality in hospitalised patients with cancer who also have clinically significant insomnia. Participants wore a hydrogel patch on the forehead connected by a cord either to a true earth connection or to an externally identical cord that did not complete a conductive circuit. Grounding was applied on two consecutive nights in the oncology ward and then nightly at home until the outpatient follow-up visit. Body voltage was measured before and during grounding in both settings, so that the trial could verify objectively whether the intervention achieved its intended physical effect. Sleep quality, mood, somatic symptoms and daytime sleepiness were assessed by validated self-report questionnaires.

Conditions

  • Neoplasms
  • Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
  • Sleep Quality
  • Cancer
  • Supportive Intervention
  • Non-invasive Intervention
  • Non-pharmacological Intervention
  • Environmental Factor

Interventions

DEVICE

Earthing patch; grounding electrode

A Medical-grade hydrogel conductive patch ( 4 x 5 cm ) applied to the participants' forehead skin is connected by an electrically conductive cord to a true earth connection (the earth terminal of the bedside mains outlet in hospital, or a metal window frame at home). Applied from 21:00 to 06:00 on two consecutive nights in the hospital ward and then nightly at home for at least six hours for 7 days before the outpatient follow-up visit. Assigned Intervention Device: true Electrical grounding patch

DEVICE

Sham (No Treatment)

Medical-grade hydrogel patch of approximately 4 x 5 cm applied to the forehead and connected by a sham-grounding cord (not conductively connected ) to an earth connection point. Assigned Intervention Device: sham-grounding cord

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Chang Gung Memorial Hospital

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Chun-Hsien Tu, MD · New Taipei City Municipal TuCheng Hospital

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
20 Years
Max Age
79 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2023-10-25
Primary Completion
2024-06-05
Completion
2024-06-05

Countries

  • Taiwan

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07791628 on ClinicalTrials.gov