Insomnia raises stroke risk in people under 50, study says
Insomnia raises stroke risk in people under 50, study says
Even dim light can disrupt sleep, raising the risk of serious health issues in older adults, a new study found. (RyanKing999/iStockphoto/Getty Images)
If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, wake up too early most days or have other signs of insomnia, you may be at higher risk for stroke, a new study found.
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. Stroke risk is typically higher in older adults with more health problems, the study noted.
After controlling for other factors that contribute to stroke risk, researchers found people with five to eight symptoms of insomnia had a 51 per cent 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.
In comparison, people who had one to four symptoms had a 16 per cent increased risk of stroke compared with people with no symptoms of insomnia, the study found.
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.
“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.
SIMILAR RESEARCH
A study published in April that analyzed data on over 4,500 people found similar results for other types of sleep disorders.
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.
Sleeping too much was also problematic. Getting more than nine hours of sleep on average was linked with a twofold increase in stroke risk.
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.
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.
Snoring or snorting, which can both be signs of untreated sleep apnea, were also risk factors. People who snored were 91 per cent 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.
Napping also increased the chances of stroke, the statement said. People who on average napped for over an hour were 88 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than those who did not. However, taking a planned nap of less than an hour was not associated with an increased stroke risk, the study said.
SLEEP DISORDERS AND STROKE
Why are sleep issues connected to stroke? Dr. Phyllis Zee, director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, told CNN in a prior interview that short, fragmented sleep and sleep apnea can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate metabolism, blood pressure and inflammation — all risk factors for stroke.
“Poor sleep can impair the natural blood pressure dipping that occurs during night time sleep and contribute to hypertension — an important risk factor for stroke and cardiovascular disease,” Zee said via email.
“In other population based research, similar relationships have been reported between poor sleep health and disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and dementia,” she said.
Practicing good sleep hygiene, eating a healthy diet and getting regular exercise are all key ways to reduce the negative impact of sleep disorders and reduce risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver, in a previous interview.
“What I always tell people is, you know, getting about seven hours a night of uninterrupted sleep is associated with the least amount of cardiovascular disease,” he said.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
What happens to the brain when you take gravity away? According to a new study looking at astronauts both before and after space travel, that experience causes physical changes that researchers believe requires at least three years between longer missions to recover from.
As wildfires rage across Canada in what’s being called an unprecedented season, one expert says there’s more that individuals and communities can do to adapt and prevent forest fires from causing widespread devastation.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.
The hot, dry conditions that are fuelling wildfires countrywide are just the beginning of what summer could look like in Canada this year, according to Environment Canada senior climatologist Dave Phillips.
Tumbler Ridge, a community with a population of 2,400 in northeastern B.C., has been ordered to evacuate Thursday due to the danger posed by an encroaching wildfire.
The decision to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women and who will fund it remains up in the air a month after a feasibility study was completed.
A $100 million class action lawsuit launched on behalf of alleged victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy on Manitoulin Island has been abandoned after the victims reached individual settlements with the church.
No one was harmed when a bus transporting elementary school children to a field trip in B.C. caught fire Thursday, with the flames fully engulfing the coach, spreading to an outbuilding and prompting wildfire concerns.
The federal government is looking at creating some kind of national disaster response agency in the face of an unusually intense and destructive start to the wildfire season across the country.
At least five Africans are dead and dozens believed missing after three boats attempting to carry migrants across the Mediterranean Sea sank in recent days off the coast of the Tunisian city of Sfax, the Tunisian coast guard said Thursday.
Donald Trump said Thursday that he has been indicted on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate, igniting a federal prosecution that is arguably the most perilous of multiple legal threats against the former U.S. president as he seeks to reclaim the White House.
Donald Trump's indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents at his Florida estate has brought renewed attention to one of the most notable cases in U.S. Justice Department history.
Embers from a smouldering scrap wood fire set days earlier outside a home used by a Christian religious communal group along with a sparking power line caused a 2021 Colorado wildfire fanned by high winds that destroyed nearly 1,100 homes and left two people dead, authorities said Thursday.
A replacement plane for an Air India flight diverted to Russia because of an engine problem landed in San Francisco on Thursday, carrying all passengers and crew, the airline said.
Joran van der Sloot, the chief suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, arrived in the United States from Peru on Thursday to face charges that he attempted to extort money from the missing woman's mother.
As forest fires rage across the country, experts are sounding the alarm over the physical and psychological impacts of the wildfires and saying that they pose a serious public health issue, which individuals and governments need to acknowledge and act upon.
The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of an Alberta woman who was unwilling to be vaccinated in order to get a life-saving organ transplant.
Social media users are sharing a surprisingly effective way to protect yourself indoors from the toxic wildfire smoke blanketing much of the East Coast: a box fan, four air filters and a whole lot of duct tape.
Scientists have documented the first-known instance of a 'virgin birth' by a crocodile, which had been living in isolation for 16 years at Costa Rican zoo, according to a study published Wednesday.
The James Webb Space Telescope set its sights on a galaxy 20 million light-years away, capturing a dazzling star-forming galaxy in images streaked with the signature of passing asteroids.
Social media users are sharing a surprisingly effective way to protect yourself indoors from the toxic wildfire smoke blanketing much of the East Coast: a box fan, four air filters and a whole lot of duct tape.
A lawyer for Prince Harry finished setting out the royal's case against a newspaper publisher on Thursday, quizzing a former tabloid reporter about information inserted into stories by then-editor Piers Morgan.
The many lives of Arnold Schwarzenegger get neatly divided into three equal parts in 'Arnold,' a Netflix documentary-cum-self-led tour through his remarkable success story as bodybuilder, actor and politician, each more improbable than the other.
Parents are finding it tougher than ever to save for their children's post-secondary education, but the mainstays of post-secondary saving remain key tools, as do clear goals and plenty of planning.
Irving Oil says it’s undertaking a “strategic review” with an eye to its future. In a release Wednesday, the company says it’s looking at a number of options, including the sale of its assets.
Rescuers in Washington state are praising the resourcefulness of a 10-year-old girl who survived on her own for more than 24 hours in the rugged terrain of the Cascade mountains after getting lost while out with her family.
Bret Hart's longtime connection with the late Iron Sheik was first made in the early 1970s when an Iranian amateur wrestler -- real name Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri -- came to Calgary to learn from promoter Stu Hart.
Racing at Belmont Park was cancelled and the Washington Nationals' home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks was postponed Thursday due to poor air quality from wildfires in Canada.
A group of climate activists claimed responsibility on Wednesday for deflating the tires of sport utility vehicles in Denmark's capital. More than 100 vehicles were vandalized, police said.
Insurance industry group Equite Association says vehicle theft in multiple provinces surged last year. Vehicle theft was up by 50 per cent in Quebec year over year, by 48.3 per cent in Ontario, by 34.5 per cent in Atlantic Canada and by 18.3 per cent in Alberta.
Even dim light can disrupt sleep, raising the risk of serious health issues in older adults, a new study found. (RyanKing999/iStockphoto/Getty Images)
