Issues with sleep may increase an individual's risk for stroke and impair a patient's post-stroke recovery ability, according to a new study published in Neurology.
For the study, researchers reviewed 29 previously published studies that linked sleep disorders like insomnia and sleep apnea to both stroke risk and recovery. In their review, researchers identified several other sleep disorders commonly detected in stroke patients, including restless leg syndrome (which can incite sporadic unintentional leg kicks throughout the night), insomnia and hypersomnia (sleeping too much).
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"Sleep disturbances are more prevalent in stroke patients, even more than in the general population," lead researcher Dirk Hermann, MD, a professor of neurology at University Hospital Essen in Germany, told HealthDay News. "Sleep disturbances should be looked into and patients should consult sleep specialists. In addition, neurologists and stroke specialists should take sleep disturbances seriously."
Sleep disorders can also negatively affect stroke recovery. "Sleep is important for the ability of the neurons [brain cells] to connect, and after a stroke, these neurons have to reconnect to compensate for the lost function. This explains why disturbed sleep affects recovery from stroke," Dr. Hermann said.
A limitation of the study was that it was not designed to establish a direct cause and effect relationship between strokes and sleep disorders.
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