Balance and coordination exercises will help you perform tasks with less energy, increase your confidence and decrease your anxiety. Try to schedule demanding physical or mental activities throughout the day or week. That way, you'll plan to take rest breaks before you feel tired.
Regarding the duration of fatigue after stroke, acute fatigue can last up to 6 months, whereas the chronic type can persist in 40% of patients after 2 years. Another study reported fatigue to be still present in one-third of patients up to 6 years after stroke onset.
Fatigue is one of the most common effects of stroke. It can make you feel unwell and like you're not in control of your recovery. The signs of fatigue are not always obvious to other people and so they may not understand how you are feeling.
Rehabilitation can help
Rehabilitation therapy can also help you relearn basic skills and increase your strength, flexibility and endurance. Over time, if you follow your rehabilitation therapy, your physical and medical condition will improve, making fatigue less of an issue.
Cardiovascular exercise can also improve the sensory perception and motor skills of stroke survivors. Walking outside or on a treadmill, stationary cycling, recumbent cross training and many other forms of exercise that get your heart pumping are extremely beneficial for stroke recovery.
The Role of Sleep in Stroke Recovery
Quality sleep has many benefits, especially for stroke survivors. Getting a good night's sleep supports neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to restructure and create new neural connections in healthy parts of the brain, allowing stroke survivors to re-learn movements and functions.
It can take many months before fatigue starts to go away after a stroke. The more you push yourself, the more tired you are likely to feel.
The most rapid recovery usually occurs during the first three to four months after a stroke, but some survivors continue to recover well into the first and second year after their stroke. Some signs point to physical therapy.
Even after surviving a stroke, you're not out of the woods, since having one makes it a lot more likely that you'll have another. In fact, of the 795,000 Americans who will have a first stroke this year, 23 percent will suffer a second stroke.
The initial recovery following stroke is most likely due to decreased swelling of brain tissue, removal of toxins from the brain, and improvement in the circulation of blood in the brain. Cells damaged, but not beyond repair, will begin to heal and function more normally.
Recovery time after a stroke is different for everyone—it can take weeks, months, or even years. Some people recover fully, but others have long-term or lifelong disabilities.
“The first three months after a stroke are the most important for recovery and when patients will see the most improvement,” says Raghavan. During this time, most patients will enter and complete an inpatient rehabilitation program, or make progress in their outpatient therapy sessions.
Fortunately, if you participate in regular rehabilitation, the outlook is positive by the 6 month mark. Studies show that about 65-85% of stroke patients will learn to walk independently after 6 months of rehabilitation.
Foods high in potassium, such as sweet and white potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, prunes, melon and soybeans, can help you maintain a healthy blood pressure — the leading risk factor of stroke. Magnesium-rich foods, such as spinach, are also linked to a lower risk of stroke.
The rate of recovery is generally greatest in the weeks and months after a stroke. However, there is evidence that performance can improve even 12 to 18 months after a stroke.
While the brain normally uses 20% of your total energy, that percentage increases during stroke recovery. This means the brain has less energy left to keep you alert and awake. Aside from helping the brain heal, deep sleep also offers other, fantastic benefits to stroke survivors.
Unfortunately, blood thinners can reduce the risk of clot-related stroke only to increase the risk of stroke related to bleeding and blood vessel rupture. To prevent unwanted complications from blood thinners, patients may need to make lifestyle and adjustments moving forward.
The best way to help prevent a stroke is to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and avoid smoking and drinking too much alcohol. These lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of problems like: arteries becoming clogged with fatty substances (atherosclerosis) high blood pressure.