Research
Mixed
Insomnia and sleep deprivation impair neuroplasticity and functional stroke recovery, while promoting NREM and REM sleep has a favorable effect on recovery.
Prioritize sleep after a stroke. It is not just rest; it is when your brain repairs itself and learns new skills. If you have insomnia, seek treatment, as it can hinder your recovery.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
In experimental stroke models, sleep loss/deprivation was found to augment brain injury and impair neuroplasticity, whereas drugs that promote NREM and REM sleep had a favorable effect on neuroplasticity and stroke recovery.
Why this rating
Based on experimental models and small clinical 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
More from this paper
- 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
- Both short sleep duration (<=5-6 hours) and long sleep duration (>=8-9 hours) are independent predictors of incident stroke.Good
- Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) improves neurologic recovery, reduces sleepiness, and may reduce recurrent vascular events in stroke patients.Moderate
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