- Everyone occasionally has problems sleeping, but chronic insomnia — persistent sleep disturbance — affects around 30% of the general population.
- Chronic insomnia can affect mental functioning and may increase the risk of depression and anxiety.
- It is also associated with health problems, such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, and obesity.
- Now, a study has found that people who report regular sleep disturbances are at higher risk of stroke than those who regularly get a good night’s sleep.
Trouble getting to sleep, or waking during the night are occasional problems for most of us. However, a good night’s sleep is an elusive goal for some people as they experience persistent sleep disturbance. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, this chronic insomnia affects some 30% of the general population.
Chronic insomnia is associated with an increased risk of accidents, high rates of work absenteeism, and decreased concentration. It may also diminish the quality of life and increase a person’s use of healthcare services.
Studies have found an association with mental health conditions. A 2005 study found that people with insomnia are almost ten times more likely to have clinically significant depression and around 17 times more likely to have clinically significant anxiety than those without insomnia. However, the direction of the relationship between depression, anxiety, and insomnia is unclear.
The effects are not only mental. According to the
A new study has provided more evidence of insomnia’s link to stroke. In this study, people who reported the highest number of insomnia symptoms had a 51% greater risk of stroke than those who reported no insomnia symptoms.
The study is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American…
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