Sleep is essential to our health and well-being. Poor sleep quality is linked to chronic health problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment, and dementia. After a stroke, people often experience difficulties in getting a good night’s sleep. Approximately half of stroke survivors have trouble falling and/or staying asleep. Poor sleep quality among stroke survivors increases the risk of recurrent stroke by 3-fold and the risk of early death by 76%. Hence, stroke survivors need strategies to promote better sleep. Fortunately, evidence shows that exercise can improve sleep quality even among those with sleep problems. Whether exercise training can improve sleep quality in adults with chronic stroke (i.e., at least 12 months since their stroke) and poor sleep quality is unknown. This study will investigate the effect of twice-weekly exercise training on sleep quality over a 6-month period in persons with chronic stroke (i.e., had a stroke more than 12 months ago) and poor sleep quality. We will also investigate the effect of exercise training on sleep duration, time spent in physical activity and sitting, thinking abilities, cardiovascular health, mood, and quality of life. The Canadian Institutes of Health Research funds this BC-based research to principal investigator Professor Teresa Liu-Ambrose, a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Healthy Aging at the University of British Columbia (UBC). Professor Liu-Ambrose’s research program focuses on the promotion of mobility and cognitive outcomes in older adults with chronic stroke and mild cognitive impairment through lifestyle interventions. Postdoctoral fellow Guilherme Moraes Balbim has received the StrokeCOG & Michael Smith Research BC Postdoctoral Fellowship to assist with recruitment, personnel training, manage participant flow and the study timeline, oversee data management and quality, conduct data analysis, lead the writing of scientific articles and knowledge translation materials, and present findings in scientific conferences and knowledge translation initiatives. Our proposed research will inform how to get better sleep after a stroke to promote recovery, long-term health, and well-being.
Award Partner: Post-Stroke Cognition Research Group (StrokeCog)
Optimizing stroke recovery in women through accessible modalities of health service delivery: A sex-and gender-based analysis of the TeleRehabilitation with Aims to Improve Lower Extremity Recovery (TRAIL) Clinical Trial
People with stroke often report the need for ongoing therapy after leaving the hospital, especially for rehabilitation to further improve leg function, walking and balance. This is particularly important when we consider that stroke affects men and women differently. Virtual rehabilitation programs may enable more women to benefit from stroke rehabilitation by reducing the need for in-person care and removing barriers such as the need for travel. The TeleRehabilitation with Aims to Improve Lower extremity recovery post-stroke (TRAIL) program is a 4-week virtual exercise program focused on improving recovery of leg function after stroke. We are conducting a clinical trial of TRAIL to examine how the program impacts walking, balance, quality of life in people with stroke with different sexes and genders. We are also interested in learning whether men and women with stroke differ in how they participate in TRAIL. Participants will be randomly assigned (50/50 chance) to the TRAIL program or a 4-week education program. We will measure walking, balance, quality of life before and after to see how men and women may differ in their response to the programs. This research will allow us to better understand how virtual rehabilitation programs can help women recover after stroke.