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GETTING LESS THAN six hours of sleep a night can increase the risk of stroke, say researchers.
A new American study showed that those with the greatest risk of stroke were employed, in middle to older age, of a normal weight and with no sleep apnea.
The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and involved 5,666 people.
The study was presented at the SLEEP 2012 conference yesterday. The participants had no history of stroke or stroke symptoms and were not high risk for obstructive sleep apnea. Their health was tracked for three years by the researchers.
The researchers – after adjusting for body-mass index (BMI) – found “a strong association” with daily sleep periods of less than six hours, and a greater incidence of stroke symptoms for middle-age to older adults.
The same study showed no association between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants.
Lead author Megan Ruiter, PhD, explained more:
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.
Ruiter added that further research may support the results, which would provide a strong argument for increasing physician and public awareness of the impact of sleep as a risk factor for stroke symptoms. This is especially the case with persons who appear to have few or no traditional risk factors for stroke, she said.
Sleep and sleep-related behaviours are highly modifiable with cognitive-behavioural therapy approaches and/or pharmaceutical interventions. These results may serve as a preliminary basis for using sleep treatments to prevent the development of stroke.
Ruiter and colleagues collected their data as part of the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, led by George Howard, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
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Don’t mothers of adopted children get parental leave? I don’t see that this is much different. This woman should have the same rights as any other new mother.
Why should men get the same entitlements as women when it comes to maternity leave ?? Women naturally need time to physically recover after the birth !! Let them take holidays after the birth if they want to be around to help….we live in an age where everyone feels entitled to everything !!
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You’ve answered your own question the moment you said
“women naturally need time to physically recover after the birth!!”
PRECISELY why their partners should be entitled to equal paid leave so that they can give mum plenty of rest and recover time, take care of the new baby and keep the house in order.
There’s also many women who would prefer to go back to work pretty soon and why shouldn’t dad be able to take paid time out in that instance so that mum has that option?
Your arrogance and narrow mindedness is astonishing: “let them take holidays!”
The Marie Antoinette of equality, eh?
Wish my husband got a decent amount of leave after I had my son,had a section and found it very hard on my own. Definitely needed the rest. He took 2 weeks holiday last time and will be doing it this time as well. Think it’s pretty crap he couldn’t stay at home longer
She did not give birth to this child. Any parental leave should be the same as those extended to fathers, which is to say little or none. As usual, the ‘EQUALITY AUTHORITY’ is only interested in the equality of one gender. What a joke!
Indeed. In Sweden, they get 16 months per child which can be divided between both parents (PAID! – up to a limit).
In Ireland the father is entitled to ZERO paid days off. Some Equality please, eh?
It’s not about whether she gave birth to the child. An adoptive mother would be entitled to the same leave.
If men have a problem with parental leave, why on earth aren’t they contacting the Equality Authority themselves, like this woman did? If one woman can fight this battle alone, what’s stopping a group of men get together to fight for paternal leave? Commenting on the internet won’t get your cause anywhere, taking decisive action will.
There’s also the issue of physical recovery after giving birth. That takes at least six weeks.
have your say