The connections between sleep and stroke risk that every travel nurse needs to know

Everyone is told at a young age that there are numerous benefits to getting a good night’s rest. As an adult, this advice still rings true. Sleep is one of the vital components of living a healthy and balanced life. However, one thing a travel nurse might not know is that sleep is a valuable and often overlooked factor in disease prevention, namely strokes.

Facts about stroke in the U.S.
Stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the U.S. and is responsible for the deaths of 130,000 Americans every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are some other important facts from the CDC about stroke:

  • One American will pass away due to a stroke every four minutes.
  • Strokes are especially prevalent in the Southeastern states, so if you are a travel nurse, you will need to be aware of these disparities in order to reduce regional risk factors.
  • Strokes are a major financial burden, costing an estimated $34 billion in the U.S. each year. These expenses include stroke medications, health care treatments and services and time missed from work.
  • More than 795,000 individuals in the U.S. suffer from a stroke annually.
  • Stroke is currently the foremost cause of serious long-term disability.

It’s also important for a travel nurse to know that a vast majority (87 percent) of strokes are ischemic strokes. These types of strokes occur when oxygenated blood fails to reach the brain, usually due to a blood clot or other circulatory blockage.

Risk factors for stroke
Although your patients can suffer a stroke at any age, being older is one of the biggest risk factors for strokes. Other issues can also contribute to stroke, including heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and sickle cell disease. Additionally, behavioral issues such as an unhealthy diet, a lack of exercise and excessive alcohol and/or tobacco use can increase stroke risks.

However, one of the underlying causes of stroke is directly tied to the amount of sleep your patients are receiving each night.

How sleep and stroke are connected
It wasn’t until the 1950s that the medical community realized how active the brain is during phases of sleep, especially REM sleep, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. In addition to balancing our circadian rhythms and keeping us from feeling drowsy, sleep can also have a profound impact on our bodies’ ability to prevent disease.

In fact, according to the NINDS, issues like stroke tend to occur more frequently at night and early morning due to characteristics related to sleep, including hormonal changes and heart rate. Brain neurons also connect with the immune system during periods of rest – this is often why our bodies send powerful sleep signals when we come down with the flu. Although it may not seem like people aren’t doing much during sleep, the body is actually hard at work strengthening the immune system on physical and mental levels.

This is why problems with sleeping are often associated with many disorders related to brain function, including Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and head injury. Impaired neurotransmitters responsible for normal sleep function can also result in many other mental issues like depression, which could be the reason why many people who suffer from depressive symptoms tend to also experience insomnia.

Sleep apnea and stroke
Sleep apnea can also contribute to stroke and heart attack prevalence, according to the NINDS, as interrupted breathing can also shortcut important brain signals. What’s more, an estimated 18 million Americans currently suffer from sleep apnea, but only a small portion of these individuals know that they have the condition. The American Heart Association also pointed out that men tend to suffer from sleep apnea more than women. When the condition is mild, many of the symptoms can be alleviated with weight loss or adjustments to sleeping patterns, so it’s important to keep preventative measures in mind during assignments. In more severe cases, a sleep test called a polysomnogram may need to be performed to take a closer look at the patient’s typical night’s sleep overnight.

How much sleep do your patients need?
The amount of sleep required for good health is often determined on a case-by-case basis. Scientists still haven’t nailed down the exact amount of sleep needed for good health, but studies have shown that sleep is crucial to survival, and much of this is due to the central nervous system’s need for rest. Much like a computer, according to the NINDS, many scientists believe that our brain’s neurons need a chance to “shut down and repair themselves.”

Because of the connection between stroke risk and sleep, nurses should pay close attention to their patients when they describe their sleep patterns, as they could reveal an underlying condition that needs to be addressed.

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