Sleep Debt Increases Risk of Stroke Symptoms Despite Healthy BMI

A study by researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham indicates that not getting enough sleep can increase the risk for stroke symptoms in people with a healthy body mass index who are at low risk for obstructive sleep apnea and have no history of stroke.

The study – which was presented on June 11, 2012, at the SLEEP 2012 conference in Boston – examines self-reported sleep data from 5,666 people ages 45 and older who were tracked for up to three years. Those with a low risk for obstructive sleep apnea and a BMI of 18.5 to 24.99, which is considered optimal, had a four-time greater risk of stroke symptoms in participants who had fewer than six hours of sleep per night versus participants in the same BMI range who had seven to eight hours of sleep per night. The study found no link between short sleep periods and stroke symptoms among overweight and obese participants. For more information, click here to read the full release.