Lehigh County Health & Medicine Summer 2021 - 11

LCMEDSOC.ORG
STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
Sleep and Stroke Recovery
BY EMILY LYTER, PT, DPT
E
ach year, stroke impacts more than
795,000 people in the United
States, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Depending on the part of the
brain affected, a stroke can impair movement,
speech, eating, cognition and the overall
ability to care for yourself.
Often, following a stroke, a patient must
undergo various forms of inpatient and
outpatient rehabilitation - seeing physical
medicine and rehabilitation doctors, participating
in physical therapy, speech therapy,
occupational therapy and so on - to relearn
movements and functions that help them
return to home, community and work. The
level and intensity of rehabilitation depends
on the stroke's severity, too.
Recovery often assumes that the patient
sleeps well - but what if they are not? Poor
sleep can have negative effects on otherwise
healthy people; what is the impact of sleep
disorders on how quickly or fully a person
recovers from stroke?
Previous research has examined the role of
obstructive sleep apnea - also known as OSA
- on people's ability to recover following a
stroke. However, there is limited evidence on
the impact that non-OSA disorders, such as
insomnia and restless leg syndrome, have on
stroke patients regaining their mobility and
performing routine daily tasks such as eating,
bathing and dressing themselves.
To study those impacts, Lehigh County-based
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
Network has partnered with SUNY Upstate
Medical University in Syracuse, New York,
on a five-year study that examines the
complex relationship between stroke, sleep
and rehabilitation.
The study, which is funded through a
National Institutes of Health R01 research
grant, focuses on inpatient rehabilitation
stroke patients who must meet specific study
criteria, including no diagnosis of sleep apnea.
Researchers collect data on stroke inpatients
when they are 15, 60 and 90 days post-stroke.
Through the use of specialized activity
monitors and a GPS device, researchers
analyze how well patients sleep, their mobility
and activity levels and their community participation
(i.e., do they leave home, go to the
SUMMER 2021 | Lehigh County Health & Medicine 11
park or participate in other daily activities).
Throughout the process, study participants
also complete self-report questionnaires
regarding sleep quality and performance
of daily activities. Performance measures of
balance and walking ability also are analyzed.
A better understanding of the complex
relationship between stroke and sleep, and
the impacts of insomnia, restless leg syndrome
and other non-OSA disorders on a person's
recovery post-stroke can help inform future
treatments that, ultimately, aim to improve
rehabilitation outcomes for patients and
their families.
Emily Lyter, PT, DPT, is a physical therapist
who specializes in treating neurologic disorders
and is the research & telemedicine program
manager at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation
Network in Allentown.
http://www.LCMEDSOC.ORG
Lehigh County Health & Medicine Summer 2021

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