A team from the National University of Ireland, Galway, looked into sleep problems linked to higher stroke risk. Those included sleeping too long, sleeping too little, poor sleep quality, snoring, gasping, and sleep apnea (breathing pauses during sleep lasting more than 10 seconds).
The researchers found that people with all of these symptoms face the highest stroke risk. They had unwelcome news for snorers: people who snore were twice as likely to have a stroke as those who don’t.
The findings could prompt doctors to discuss these risks with patients who have sleep problems.
However, the researchers emphasized that their findings do not mean sleep problems will definitely cause a stroke. They show a correlation between these sleep issues and stroke occurrences.
How the Study Was Conducted
The study involved 4,496 volunteers: 2,238 of them had experienced a stroke, while 2,258 had not.
The researchers asked participants about their sleep behaviors, including how many hours they sleep, how they rate their sleep quality, and whether they snore or gasp. They also asked about other stroke risk factors that can affect sleep, such as smoking, excessive physical activity, depression, and alcohol use.
The team also examined the relationship between stroke and the duration of nighttime sleep. They discovered that people who slept more than nine hours or less than five hours were more likely to have a stroke than those who averaged seven hours of sleep.
They also looked at daytime napping. Participants who napped for more than one hour had an 88 percent higher chance of having a stroke than those who took shorter naps, the Independent reported.
After analyzing the responses, the researchers concluded that all of those sleep problems are linked to a higher risk of stroke.
Lead author Christine McCarthy said that, for stroke prevention, sleep problems should be a focus. The results were published in the journal Neurology.
Previous studies have found that people who snore and have sleep apnea face about a threefold higher risk of stroke compared with others.
