Correlation between Sleep Duration and Risk of Stroke

Modern lifestyle and job requirements have changed the sleep habits of most of the adult population. Various population-based studies have associated an increase in mortality with either shortened sleep or long sleep duration. Thus a U-shaped relationship between sleep duration and all-cause mortality in both men and women has been suggested. Several studies have found an association between sleep duration and risk of cardiovascular diseases also. Efforts to understand the etiology of stroke have indicated an association between sleep and stroke too. Obstructive sleep apnea, a sleep-related disorder, has been reported to significantly increase the risk of stroke. Moreover, many studies have shown that both short and long sleep durations are related to increased likelihood of diabetes and hypertension, which themselves are risk factors for stroke. Therefore, this review focuses on the correlation between sleep duration and risk of stroke based on the experimental and epidemiologic studies. Although a few experimental studies have reported that partial sleep deprivation may reduce stroke incidence and severity, yet, most experimental and observational studies have indicated a strong association between short/long sleep durations and higher risk of stroke.