Excessive sleeping after stroke is common during the early stages of recovery as the brain works hard to heal itself. However, excessive daytime sleepiness could signify other problems that deserve a conversation with your doctor.
Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a prevalent symptom among stroke survivors. This symptom is an independent risk factor for stroke and may reduce stroke survivors' quality of life, cognitive functioning, and daytime functional performance.
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.
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.
The physical impact of the stroke on your brain and body can trigger fatigue. In the early weeks and months after a stroke, your brain and body are healing. The rehabilitation process can involve trying to do things in a completely new way, or learning and doing exercises which can be very tiring.
The key to stroke treatment and recovery is getting to the hospital quickly. Yet 1 in 3 stroke patients never calls 9-1-1. Calling an ambulance means that medical staff can begin life-saving treatment on the way to the emergency room.
Investigators reported that people who frequently naps may have an increased risk of high blood pressure and ischemic stroke by 12% compared to people who do not nap. For some, there is nothing more refreshing than taking a nap.
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.
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.
Characteristics of post-stroke fatigue may include: overwhelming tiredness and lack of energy to perform daily activities; abnormal need for naps, rest, or extended sleep; more easily tired by daily activities than pre-stroke; unpredictable feelings of fatigue without apparent reason.
If you experience rapid, sudden worsening of stroke secondary effects, then it's time to seek medical attention immediately. But if changes are smaller, it could just be the natural process of recovery. Sometimes you'll take two steps forward and one step backward.
Your brain is amazing! It has the ability to re-wire itself, allowing you to improve skills such as walking, talking and using your affected arm. This process is known as neuroplasticity. It begins after a stroke, and it can continue for years.
An international study has shown, for the first time, that the capacity of the human brain to recover and rewire itself peaks around two weeks after a stroke and diminishes over time.
“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.
When communicating with a stroke survivor who has communication problems (aphasia), it is helpful to: Be patient. Eliminate distractions. Turn off the TV, limit extraneous noise.
As you begin to recover, you might feel that your behaviour changes or improves. You may start feeling better physically and emotionally. But some changes will be long term. You are still the same person, but a stroke may change the way you respond to things.
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.
If you have one-sided weakness and suddenly get weak in another part of the body, you could be having another stroke. Additionally, any weakness that gets worse can signal a problem.
There are significant cognitive and physical disabilities in the second recurrent ischemic stroke as compared to the first-ever one, and the second stroke tend to be more dangerous and carry more disability.