LACK OF SLEEP INCREASES RISK OF STROKE

     Do you regularly sleep less than six hours per night?  Research reported by postdoctoral fellow in psychology, Megan Ruiter, PhD, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, found that normal body weight adults who slept less than six hours nightly were four times more likely to have a stroke than people who got seven or eight hours of sleep each night.  The researchers followed 5,666 people age 45 and older who had no history of stroke or sleep apnea.  The researchers were monitoring these people for weakness on one side of the body and other stroke symptoms and identified the lack of sleep as increasing the risk of stroke.

     The researchers theorize that less than six hours per night of sleep can trigger high blood pressure and high cholesterol.  Both of those are established stroke risk factors.  If you almost always sleep less than six hours each night, it's time to talk to your doctor.  Remember that hypnotherapy can be a valuable tool in dealing with insomnia.  See your doctor, see a hypnotherapist.  Get more than six hours per night of good sleep and Be Well.