However, taking a planned nap of less than an hour was not associated with an increased stroke risk, the study said. People who on average napped for over an hour were 88% more likely to suffer a stroke than those who did not.

Napping also increased the chances of stroke, the statement said. People who snored were 91% more likely to have suffered a stroke, while those who snorted were almost three times as likely to have had a stroke than those who did not. Snoring or snorting, which can both be signs of untreated sleep apnea, were also risk factors. Having sleep apnea - a condition in which people stop breathing multiple times per hour - was associated with a threefold increase in stroke risk, according to a statement on the April study. The results held true even after adjustments to eliminate other issues that can lead to stroke, including depression, alcohol abuse, smoking and a lack of physical activity, according to the April study. Sleep apnea linked to smaller brain volume, study finds (add caption) no_limit_pictures/E+/Getty Images Getting more than nine hours of sleep on average was linked with a twofold increase in stroke risk. Results showed people who slept less than five hours a night, which can occur with insomnia, were three times more likely to have a stroke than those who regularly got seven hours of sleep - the recommended minimum for adults, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “There are many therapies that can help people improve the quality of their sleep, so determining which sleep problems lead to an increased risk of stroke may allow for earlier treatments or behavioral therapies for people who are having trouble sleeping and possibly reducing their risk of stroke later in life,” said lead study author and epidemiologist Wendemi Sawadogo, a researcher at the Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, in a statement.Ī study published in April that analyzed data on over 4,500 people found similar results for other types of sleep disorders. Symptoms of insomnia can include trouble falling asleep waking up during the night waking up too early in the morning not feeling well rested daytime sleepiness anxiety, depression and irritability worry about sleep, increased errors or accidents and difficulty focusing, remembering or paying attention, according to the Mayo Clinic. In comparison, people who had one to four symptoms had a 16% increased risk of stroke compared with people with no symptoms of insomnia, the study found. Stroke risk is typically higher in older adults with more health problems, the study noted.Īfter controlling for other factors that contribute to stroke risk, researchers found people with five to eight symptoms of insomnia had a 51% increased risk of stroke compared with people who did not have insomnia, according to a statement on the study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology. The more symptoms of insomnia you have the higher the risk, especially if you’re younger than age 50, according to the study, which followed over 31,000 people with no history of stroke for nine years. Using melatonin for sleep is on the rise, study says, despite potential health harms

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