Research
Mixed
Both short sleep duration (<=5-6 hours) and long sleep duration (>=8-9 hours) are independent predictors of incident stroke.
Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Consistently sleeping much less than 6 hours or much more than 9 hours is associated with a higher risk of stroke. If you find yourself needing excessive sleep or struggling to sleep, consult a doctor to rule out underlying issues like apnea or depression.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
A meta-analysis of 11 community-representative studies with 559,252 participants and 11,695 stroke events revealed that long sleep, mostly defined as >=8–9 hours sleep/night in questionnaires, is an independent predictor of incident stroke after adjustment for age, sex, vascular risk factors, and comorbidities (HR 1.45; CI 1.30–1.62). ... a recent meta-analysis found that short sleep, mostly defined as <=5–6 hours sleep/night in questionnaires, is an independent predictor of incident stroke ... (1.15; CI 1.07–1.24).
Why this rating
Based on large meta-analyses of community-representative studies.
Source
Role of sleep-disordered breathing and sleep-wake disturbances for stroke and stroke recovery
Dirk M. Hermann et al. · Neurology · 2016
DOI 10.1212/wnl.0000000000003037
narrative_reviewCited 224×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Untreated sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), particularly obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), is an independent risk factor for incident stroke and recurrent vascular events, with risk increasing with apnea-hypopnea index (AHI).Good
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- Insomnia and sleep deprivation impair neuroplasticity and functional stroke recovery, while promoting NREM and REM sleep has a favorable effect on recovery.Moderate
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