Getting enough sleep is correlated to brain and heart health and after a stroke that is even more important.

A new survey finds that is when people who need it are least likely to get it. 

A cohort of 39,559 people were asked every two years how much sleep they usually get at night on weekdays or workdays. Sleep duration was divided into three categories: short, less than six hours; normal, six to eight hours; and long, eight or more hours of sleep. The group included 1,572 people who had a stroke.


Image: Storyblocks

Normal sleep duration was less common for people who had a stroke than for those with no prior stroke for all age groups with 32% vs. 54% for people age 18-44; 47% vs. 55% for people age 45-64; and 45% vs. 54% for people over age 65.

After adjusting for factors that could affect sleep such as age, weight and high blood pressure, researchers found people who had a stroke were 54% more likely to report more than eight hours of sleep per night compared to those without stroke. Those with stroke were 50% more likely to get less than six hours of sleep per night when compared to those without stroke.

Insomnia, excessive sleepiness, and sleep apnea are commonly reported by stroke patients but these are survey results so simply exploratory. Like correlation of common products to cancer, a link between them cannot be created without scientific data.