Sleep Deprivation Linked To Stroke Risk (PICTURES Plus Other Reasons Why Shut-Eye Benefits Your Health)

Regularly getting less than six hours sleep a night raises the risk of stroke in middle age, research has shown.

Scientists in the US studied 5,666 people aged 45 and older who had no history of stroke and were of normal weight.

Over a three-year period they found that those who habitually slept for less than six hours were significantly more likely to suffer a stroke.

Having too little sleep had a greater effect than other stroke risk factors.

Scroll down to discover how sleep benefits your health...

The same pattern was not seen in overweight and obese individuals.

Lead researcher Dr Megan Ruiter, from the University of Alabama, said: "In employed middle-aged to older adults, relatively free of major risk factors for stroke such as obesity and sleep-disordered breathing, short sleep duration may exact its own negative influence on stroke development.

"We speculate that short sleep duration is a precursor to other traditional stroke risk factors, and once these traditional stroke risk factors are present, then perhaps they become stronger risk factors than sleep duration alone."

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She presented the findings at the Sleep 2012 meeting currently taking place in Boston.

Further research supporting the results would suggest a need for more awareness of poor sleep as a stroke risk factor, said Dr Ruiter.

"Sleep and sleep-related behaviours are highly modifiable with cognitive behavioural therapy approaches and/or pharmaceutical interventions," she added. "These results may serve as a preliminary basis for using sleep treatments to prevent the development of stroke."

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Another small study presented at the same meeting indicated that fear of the dark may contribute to insomnia.

Nearly half of a group of students who complained of lack of sleep also admitted to being afraid of the dark.

In tests, researchers found they produced jumpier responses to sudden noise bursts in dark surroundings.

"The poor sleepers were more easily startled in the dark compared with good sleepers," said study leader Taryn Moss, from Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada.

Discover other ways how sleep helps our health...

Health Benefits Of Sleep

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Having a good night's sleep helps wipe out bad memories and combat stress, scientists have discovered.Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, found that our brains process emotional experiences during the Rapid Eye Movement phase of sleep and this makes painful memories easier to deal with.Read the full story here... (credit:Alamy)

Sleep Helps You Eat Right(02 of05)

A recent study by the University of California discovered that sleep deprivation controls our food choices - possibly helping to explain the link between sleep loss and obesity. The study suggests that sleep loss may prevent the higher brain functions normally critical for making appropriate food choices, rather than necessarily changing activity in deeper brain structures that react to basic desire. (credit:Alamy)

Sleep Combats Anxiety(03 of05)

Research by the Sleep and Neuroimaging Laboratory at the University of California recently discovered that lack of sleep makes us more anxious during emotional events. The fMRI scans showed that sleep deprivation significantly amplified the build-up of anticipatory activity in deep emotional brain centres, especially the amygdala, a part of the brain associated with responding to negative and unpleasant experiences. (credit:Alamy)

Co-Sleeping Makes You Happy(04 of05)

Sleeping in bed with someone at night has psychological benefits, claim experts. A growing body of research claims the psychological benefits of being close to someone at night far outweighs the cons of sleeping with someone who has a case of the night time jiggles.Read the full story here... (credit:Alamy)

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