Brain stimulation device, Alpha-Stim is receiving growing support from health professionals and people with anxiety, insomnia and chronic pain. 

Alpha-Stim uses cranial electrotherapy stimulation (CES) to deliver small, pulsed currents to the brain, via a small clip attached to the outer ear. A low-amplitude waveform is used to rebalance the default mode network, which is often disrupted in a number of mental health conditions, including anxiety and insomnia.  

Alpha-Stim was launched in the US in 1981 and more than 100 clinical studies and trials have been carried out on Alpha-Stim and CES. In 2010, it was brought to the UK by Stephen Hutchinson, who discovered it when he was looking for an alternative to medication to help with insomnia and anxiety. 

In 2014, Northamptonshire NHS Healthcare Trust was the first NHS Trust to trial Alpha-Stim for patients. After extensive trials, the Trust added it to its routine primary care pathway for patients with anxiety two years ago. 

Headline figures from research include a 94 per cent improvement in anxiety after five weeks.

After five Alpha-Stim insomnia treatments, military service members with insomnia reported an increase of 43 minutes of sleep.

A study on CES found the number of subjects rating their quality of sleep as poor dropped from 60 per cent to 5 per cent.

In a study of severe pain patients, Alpha-Stim significantly reduced pain by an average of 71 per cent after five treatments.

Dr James Kustow, consultant psychiatrist and author of ‘How to Thrive with adult ADHD’, said, “I’m really excited by the results my patients have reported when using Alpha-Stim for their anxiety symptoms over many years.

"I have found that it has made a huge difference to the quality of life of many of my patients, some of whom have been struggling to get good control of their anxiety and emotional dysregulation for many years. It’s a really excellent non-medication solution for a common and impairing problem.”