Longevity & AgingHow Sleep Disorders Silently Double Your Stroke Risk — and What to Do About It
This 2025 narrative review synthesizes evidence on the complex, bidirectional relationship between sleep disorders and stroke. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects up to 71% of stroke patients and independently doubles stroke risk through intermittent hypoxia, systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and autonomic dysregulation. Insomnia, restless legs syndrome, abnormal sleep duration, and circadian rhythm disturbances also independently elevate cerebrovascular risk. Conversely, stroke frequently triggers or worsens sleep disorders, impairing rehabilitation, cognitive recovery, and quality of life. The authors emphasize that these conditions remain dangerously underdiagnosed and undertreated in clinical stroke care, and call for personalized, multidisciplinary screening and management strategies including CPAP, behavioral interventions, and pharmacological options.
