Hi, Peg is here to share with you some post-stroke sleep habits. I want to share some of both mine and Tom’s too, since it’s important to understand what your caregiver is/may be going through as well. The topic of sleep was also mentioned in the article I posted about the 13 common mistakes made by post-stroke survivors during their recovery. I made sure, though, that I left off the Midwestern drawl this time! You have probably heard enough of that. So I have managed to talk to you specifically about motivation, consistency and now (well, today) about sleep. Within the next few weeks I want to address communication, nutrition (not just my recipes), keeping stress and inflammation low in your life and body, and not losing hope, too. That will tackle more than half of the 13 most common mistakes according to Saebo. I will have much more to write about in my “Getting To Know Me” segment - not just the 13 common mistakes of post-stroke survivors during recovery. I recently discovered an exceptional article that I recommend that you find and read too. It’s from Flint Rehab, dated 9-13-18, and it lists 7 reasons why post-stroke survivors need extra sleep. In summary, the reasons are as follows. Please read the entire article, though, as I believe you will find it very interesting, whether you have had a stroke or not. Anyways, here’s the summary... “Why You Need Lots of Sleep after Stroke for a Better Recovery,” September 13, 2018 (by: Flint Rehab) 1. A Healing Brain Requires Lots of Energy After Stroke A stroke occurs when an artery in the brain becomes blocked or ruptured, depriving the brain of oxygen, which leads to the death of affected brain cells. After the stroke has been treated, rehabilitation begins to help reverse the side effects. Unfortunately, this process can be very long and tiring. A stroke results in serious injury to the brain, so your brain will need lots of rest in order to repair and rewire itself. 2. Getting Plenty of Sleep After Stroke Helps Your Brain DetoxifyWhen you sleep, your brain gets a chance to clean itself up and flush out toxic molecules that build up during waking hours.Since we want to boost brain power during stroke recovery, getting plenty of sleep is critical so that your brain can detoxify. If you don’t get enough sleep and these toxins continue to build up in your brain. 3. Sleep Helps Improve Neuroplasticity & Motor Recovery after StrokeWhen you perform stroke rehab exercises to improve movement, sleep helps your brain process and store that information. During REM sleep, your brain turns short-term memories about muscle movement into long-term memories that become stored in the part of the brain that’s in charge of muscle activity. This rewiring process is called neuroplasticity – the brain’s ability to form and strengthen new neural connections. This is how you will reverse your stroke side effects, like impaired motor function. 4. Sleep Is This Famous Stroke Survivor’s Top Recommendation Jill Bolte Taylor, a neuroscientist who experienced a massive stroke, wrote a book called My Stroke of Insight that recounted her 8-year stroke recovery and all the lessons she learned. 5. Make Sure Fatigue Isn’t a Side Effect from Medication Sometimes the excessive desire for sleep has to do with something more than just healing in the brain. Sometimes medication is the culprit. If you’re currently taking medication, then be sure to check read up on all possible side effects as “difficulty sleeping” could be one of them. 6. Have Trouble Sleeping? It Could Be a Disorder like Insomnia or Sleep Apnea (not just from a stroke). 7. Optimize Your Shut Eye for the Best Recovery from StrokeIf you want to get better sleep after stroke but sleeping disorders are getting in the way, try some tips (and some good tips are listed) I make sure I get 8-10 hours of sleep at night. I generally do not take any naps during the daytime. I think perhaps a 1 - 1 ½ hour in the afternoon (and closer to 8 hours, rather than 10 hours, at night) would be a good idea if you are currently working from home and can manage to do so in your schedule. By taking an afternoon nap you are able to “recharge” yourself for the afternoon. Tom works from home so he is able to do this and it definitely works to his advantage. And I recall that a lot of former politicians and famous people were and are strong supporters of the mid-day nap routine! I know that my dad was a strong supporter as well. Well, as I always like to say before sleepy-time, good-night, sweet-dreams, and God Bless, Peg. “The way get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” -Walt Disney Check out my Instagram page at poststrokepeg and my Facebook at Peg Freman
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December 2018
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