You do not spend a night without waking up? Many French people are in the same situation. Indeed, in a 2018 survey by the National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INSV), 73% say they wake up at least once a night.
These sleep disorders can have many causes that you can influence (stress, anxiety, lifestyle…)but also other on which you cannot have any influence. Among them are several pathologies such as hyperthyroidism, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), or restless leg syndrome. According to a recent Canadian study, they could also be the sequel to a CVA (cerebrovascular accident). The research, led by a team from the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Medicine, was published March 14 in the journal Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Stroke: nearly two-thirds of participants have symptoms of sleep disorders
For this research, the scientists used data of persons aged 18 and over, having responded to the sleep and chronic disease modules of the 2017-2018 cycle of the Canadian Community Health Survey. Participants had to share their quality of sleep by answering questions. Thus, they had to say whether they stayed awake part of the night or not, and quantify their sleep duration(less than 5 hours being a short duration and more than 9 hours being a long one). Participants also shared whether they had trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night.
According to the results of the study, nearly two-thirds of Canadians who have had a stroke have trouble sleeping.
Moreover, they were also up to 7 times more likely to experience sleep disturbances after suffering a stroke.
The importance of raising awareness about the link between stroke and sleep disorders
Matthew Jeffers, a doctoral student in the Faculty of Medicine’s epidemiology program and lead author of the study, believes there is a need to raise awareness on the subject. “As far as primary care practitioners are concerned, above all, we want to increase the vigilance of the latter drawing their attention to the high number of stroke patients who show symptoms of sleep disturbances. Given the frequency of these symptoms, it might be helpful for doctors to consider screening for underlying sleep disturbances in stroke patients“, he declares.
According to him, further research is needed to “study groups of patients in sleep laboratories to gain a deeper and more objective understanding of the relationship between stroke and specific types of sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea and insomnia”. The results of the study could also help to target interventions, to allow better management of sleep disorders.