Have trouble sleeping? You may be more likely to have a stroke, study suggests

People who have issues sleeping may be at a higher risk of having a stroke, a new study suggests.

According to the study published April 5 in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, if you get too much sleep, too little sleep, don’t sleep very well, take long naps, snore or have sleep apnea, you may be more likely to have a stroke.

The study notes sleeping problems do not cause strokes, but researchers found a correlation.

“Not only do our results suggest that individual sleep problems may increase a person’s risk of stroke but having more than five of these symptoms may lead to five times the risk of stroke compared to those who do not have any sleep problems,” study author Christine McCarthy, of the University of Galway in Ireland, said in a release accompanying the study. “Our results suggest that sleep problems should be an area of focus for stroke prevention.”

The study looked at nearly 4,500 people from around the world with an average age of 62. Of the 4,496 participants, 2,243 people had a stroke, and 2,253 people did not have a stroke.

People were asked how many hours of sleep they get, how well they sleep, how often they nap, and if they snore, snort or have breathing problems when asleep within the last month.

Researchers found people who slept too much or not enough were more likely to have a stroke than people who got an average amount of sleep. Of the people who said they got less than five hours of sleep per night, 162 had a stroke, while 43 did not. The study notes these people were three times more likely to have a stroke compared to people who said they got about seven hours of shut-eye a night.

Additionally, of the people who said they got more than nine hours of sleep per night, 151 had a stroke, compared to 84 who did not. Researchers say these people were more than two times as likely to have a stroke compared to people who said they got an average amount of sleep.

The study notes people who take naps lasting longer than an hour were 88 per cent more likely to have a stroke versus those who do not.

People who snore were 91 per cent more likely to have a stroke, and people who snort or have sleep apnea were almost three times as likely to have a stroke compared to people who do not, according to the study.

Researchers say even after adjusting the data for other factors that can affect stroke risk such as smoking, lack of physical activity, depression, and alcohol consumption, their conclusions remained similar.

“With these results, doctors could have earlier conversations with people who are having sleep problems,” Mc Carthy said in a release. “Interventions to improve sleep may also reduce the risk of stroke and should be the subject of future research.”

Study authors also note the data they used was self-reported by participants, and therefore may not be 100 per cent accurate.

The study was supported by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, Canadian Stroke Network, Swedish Research Council, Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation, The Health & Medical Care Committee of the Regional Executive Board, Region Västra Götaland, Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada), Pfizer (Canada), Merck, Sharp and Dohme, UK Chest and UK Heart and Stroke.