A team of researchers from the National University of Ireland, Galway, has investigated sleep issues that could lead to strokes. Among these are excessively long sleep, insufficient sleep, poor sleep quality, snoring, gasping, and sleep apnea (pauses in breathing during sleep lasting more than 10 seconds).
The scientists found that individuals exhibiting all these symptoms are at the highest risk of having a stroke. They delivered some unwelcome news to snorers: they are twice as likely to suffer a stroke compared to those who do not snore.
The findings could encourage doctors to have timely discussions about these risks with patients experiencing such issues.
However, the researchers emphasized that their conclusions do not imply that sleep problems will necessarily cause a stroke. They merely indicate a correlation between these issues and the occurrence of strokes.
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 inquired about the presence of other stroke risk factors that are also precursors to poor sleep, such as smoking, excessive physical activity, depression, and alcohol consumption.
The team also examined the relationship between stroke and the duration of nighttime sleep. They discovered that individuals who slept more than nine hours or less than five hours were more likely to suffer a stroke than those who averaged seven hours of sleep.
Additionally, the scientists studied the impact of daytime napping on stroke risk, as reported by the Independent. Volunteers who napped for more than one hour had an 88 percent higher likelihood of experiencing a stroke compared to those who preferred shorter daytime rests.
After analyzing the responses, the researchers ultimately reached a key conclusion: all the listed manifestations of problematic sleep pose a threat of stroke.
The lead author of the study, Christine McCarthy, summarized that in the context of stroke prevention, sleep issues should be a focal point of attention. The results were published in the journal Neurology.
Interestingly, previous studies have shown that individuals who snore and suffer from sleep apnea have a threefold higher risk of stroke compared to others.