Insomnia is associated with increased risk of stroke

• Insomnia may increase the risk of stroke, according to new research.
• People under 50 who experienced moderate to severe insomnia had almost four times the risk of stroke compared to those without symptoms.
• A brain health expert explains the findings.

If you often wake up at night and have trouble falling asleep, the problem may be: insomnia. While this condition may seem insignificant other than lack of rest, new research shows that people with insomnia may be at increased risk of: stroke.

Research published in neurology We investigated the association between insomnia symptoms and stroke risk. The study involved 31,126 people (mean age 61 years) who had no history of stroke at the start of the study. Patients answered questions about how often they had trouble falling asleep, waking up in the middle of the night, waking up too early, and being unable to go back to sleep. Researchers rated the severity of symptoms on a scale of 1 (less severe) to 8 (more severe).

The researchers followed the participants for nine years, during which time they experienced a total of 2,101 strokes. The researchers found that people who reported experiencing five to eight symptoms of insomnia had a 51% higher risk of stroke than those who reported no symptoms.

The association between insomnia symptoms and stroke was stronger among participants under the age of 50 who experienced five to eight symptoms, with nearly four times the risk of stroke compared with those without symptoms. However, people aged 50 and older with 5 to 8 symptoms still had a significantly (38%) increased risk of stroke compared with those without symptoms.

“The difference in risk between these two age groups may be explained by the higher incidence of stroke in older age,” study author Wendemi Sawadogo, M.D., MPH, Ph.D., said in the paper. press release. “The list of risk factors for stroke includes: high blood pressure Diabetes can also increase with age, and insomnia symptoms are one of many possible contributing factors. This striking difference suggests that managing insomnia symptoms at a young age may be an effective strategy for stroke prevention. ”

So what is insomnia and how does it affect stroke risk?

Insomniacs say they have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep Amit Sakdev, M.D., Director of the Department of Neuromuscular Medicine, Michigan State University. Simply put, insomnia is associated with elevated blood pressure, which may increase the risk of stroke.

Lack of sleep can lead to inflammation and metabolic dysregulation, including: type of diabetesheart disease, and high blood pressure, which are known risk factors for stroke, are added. Dr. Adi Iyer, Neurosurgeon, Pacific Neuroscience Institute, Providence St. John’s Health Center, Santa Monica, CA. “The association between sleep deprivation and stroke in older patients is most likely to be low, as older patients are generally much stronger in all areas. The relative impact of sleep is reduced compared to other health conditions. Diabetesand Heart disease”

Conclusion

Dr. Iyer says sleep disturbances have long-term effects on overall health, including stroke risk, and should be treated like any other serious health condition. “The importance of this study is that it can help clinicians optimize sleep patterns to reduce the risk of stroke, especially in younger patients.” They point out that the results need to be discounted because they were self-reported in the study and the different types of insomnia were not sufficiently differentiated by the participants.

reduce stress Health and physical health are both important in reducing the risk of stroke, and both are affected by sleep, Dr. Satchdev said. “It may sound boring, but the body likes good habits,” he added. Finding this can go a long way in supporting good quality sleep, which in turn can go a long way in helping your brain health.

Madeleine preventionDeputy Editor-in-Chief of , she has a background in health writing from her experience as an editorial assistant at WebMD and her personal research at university. She graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience, where she helps develop strategies for success in all areas. preventionsocial media platform.