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According to new research, "tickling" the ear with a small electrical current seems to rebalance the autonomic nervous system of people over 55, which could slow down one of the effects of aging.
Scientists discovered that a short daily therapy for two weeks resulted in both physiological improvements and well-being, including better quality of life, better mood and better sleep.
The therapy, called transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation, provides a small, painless electric current to the ear, which sends signals to the body's nervous system through the vagus nerve.
New research, conducted at the University of Leeds, suggests that therapy can slow down a significant effect badociated with aging.
This could help protect people from the chronic diseases we are becoming older as we get older, such as hypertension, heart disease and atrial fibrillation. The researchers, who published their findings today in the journal Aging, suggest that "tickling" therapy has the potential to help people age more healthily by recalibrating the body's internal control system.
Lead author Dr. Beatrice Bretherton of the School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Leeds said: "The ear is like a gateway through which we can alter the metabolic balance of the body without resorting to medications or invasive procedures.The results are just the tip of the iceberg.
"We are excited to further investigate the effects and potential long-term benefits of daily hearing stimulation of the ear, as we have found an excellent response to treatment up to now."
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Leeds and funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust.
What is the autonomic nervous system?
The autonomic nervous system controls many body functions that do not require conscious thinking, such as digestion, breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure.
It contains two branches, one friendly and the other parasympathetic, who oppose to maintain a good balance of activity.
The sympathetic limb helps the body prepare for high intensity "fight or flight" activity, while the parasympathetic is crucial for low intensity "rest and digestion" activity.
As you get older and fight diseases, the balance of the body changes so that the sympathetic branch begins to dominate. This imbalance makes us more vulnerable to new diseases and leads to the breakdown of healthy bodily functions as we age.
Clinicians have long been interested in the potential of using electrical currents to influence the nervous system. The vagus nerve, the main nerve of the parasympathetic system, has often been used for electrical stimulation and previous research has focused on the possibility of resorting to vagus nerve stimulation to combat depression, epilepsy, the 39, obesity, stroke, tinnitus and heart.
However, this type of stimulation requires surgery to implant electrodes in the neck area, with badociated costs and a low risk of side effects.
Fortunately, there is a small branch of the vagus nerve that can be stimulated without surgery, located in the skin of specific parts of the outer ear.
In Leeds, previous research has shown that the application of a small electrical stimulus to the vagus nerve of the ear, perceived by some people as a tickling sensation, improves the balance of the autonomic nervous system in healthy 30-year-olds. health.
Other researchers around the world are currently studying whether this transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (TNV) could provide treatment for problems ranging from heart problems to mental health.
Diane Crossley, 70, from Leeds, participated in the study and received tVNS treatment for two weeks. She said: "I was happy to participate in this very interesting study, it helped me to become aware of my own health.
"It was a fascinating project and I was proud to be part of it."
In their new study, scientists from the University of Leeds wanted to know if tVNS could benefit those over 55, more likely to have unbalanced autonomic systems that could contribute to the health problems badociated with aging. .
They recruited 29 healthy volunteers, aged 55 or older, and gave each of them treatment with tVNS 15 minutes a day for two weeks. Participants learned to self-administer home treatment during the study.
The therapy led to an increase in parasympathetic activity and a decrease in sympathetic activity, rebalancing the autonomic function towards that badociated with healthy function. In addition, some people reported improvements in mental health measures and sleep patterns.
Being able to correct this balance of activity could help us age more healthily and help people with various disorders, such as heart disease and some mental health issues.
In addition, improving the balance of the autonomic nervous system reduces the risk of death, as well as the need to take medication or to receive hospital visits.
The researchers found that people with the largest imbalance at the start of the study had the most pronounced improvements after the therapy.
They suggest that in the future it may be possible to determine who is most likely to benefit from the therapy so that it can be delivered through a targeted approach.
It has already been shown that tVNS treatment has positive psychological effects in patients with depression and this study shows that it could also have significant physiological benefits.
Dr. Susan Deuchars, one of the lead authors of the study, said, "We believe that this stimulation can make a big difference in people's lives and we now hope to conduct further studies. to see if tVNS can be beneficial for multiple disorders. "
Further studies are now needed to understand what may be the long-term health effects of TNSV, as this study involved a small number of participants over a short period of time.
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