Hábitos de sono de pacientes com acidente vascular cerebral: necessidade de medidas de higiene do sono

Introduction/Objectives: Inadequate sleep habits can affect the physical and mental well-being of the individual; therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the sleep habits of patients with chronic stroke and the necessity of sleep hygiene measures. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted, which involved 154 patients (90 men and 64 women): 55.2% ≥ 60 years of age and 44.8% < 60 years of age; 81 right brain-damaged and 73 left braindamaged. The patients completed a Sleep Habits Questionnaire, validated in Brazil, with 47 questions related to family, housing, health, sleep and daily activities. The data were analyzed by the chi-square test. Results: The results showed that 63.6% of the patients had an additional person sleeping in their bedroom, 12.3% complained about too much noise in the room and 35% complained about too much light. Of these patients, 5.8% were smokers, and 7.8% were alcohol consumers and 70.1% were coffee drinkers. Regarding the sleep quality, 28.6% had difficulty initiating sleep, and 37.6% awoke in the middle of the night. In addition, 95% were unemployed, 80.5% did not perform physical activities, and 95.4% did not perform mental activities. Conclusion: These results indicate that many patients do not follow sleep hygiene measures, suggesting a requirement for sleep medicine measures so that these patients can learn lifestyle habits that ensure good quality of sleep.