Abstract
ABSTRACTCerebrovascular accidents (CVA) or Stroke is a neurological disorder that affects an
individual’s cognition, behavior, and emotion. Each individual who experiences a stroke
will have their own unique journey, including how the stroke impacts their health, living
situation, job opportunities, interpersonal relationships, and overall quality of life. While
each of these areas deserves its own devoted research, one’s health following a stroke
will impact all of the other areas mentioned and is itself impacted by many variables. One
factor that may impact the health of a stroke survivor is their sleep, and this area has
received little research previously. The current study examined the impact that sleep had
on the recovery of stroke survivors in an inpatient rehabilitation setting. Seventy adult
participants were included in the current study. A total of six hierarchical linear
regressions were run to analyze the data, examining the functioning of patients both at
admission and across rehabilitation. It was found that sleep quality and quantity did not
significantly predict higher functioning at admission. It was also found that sleep quality
and quantity did not significantly predict increased functioning throughout rehabilitation
when controlling for pre-levels. Although the hypotheses of the current study were not
found to be supported, the results of the current study contribute to the sparse literature
on the subject of sleep during the stroke recovery process.