Stroke patients experience sustained problems with insomnia potentially reducing their ability to relearn key skills and putting them at increased risk of depression, a new study in the journal Scientific Reports finds.
Stroke patients experience sustained problems with insomnia potentially reducing their ability to relearn key skills and putting them at increased risk of depression, a new study in the journal Scientific Reports finds.
In the first study of its kind, researchers from the University of Surrey, University of Freiburg, Germany, and the University of Bern, Switzerland, conducted an in depth sleep laboratory experiment to compare the brain signals of patients in the chronic state (at least one year post-stroke) and the general population.
Difficulties with sleeping in those who had a stroke have long been reported but little is known about the brain signals underlying poor sleep, in particular when patients are back in the community. It is also unclear how sleeping poorly during the night relates to sleepiness and fatigue during the day.
Using a polysomnogram (PSG) test, which assesses the brains’ sleeping patterns over two nights, researchers found that it took stroke patients longer to fall asleep and that they had poorer sleep efficiency – the ratio of time spent asleep comparted to the time spent in bed – than those who had not experienced a stroke.
Read more at University of Surrey
Photo Credit: geralt via Pixabay
