ExerciseRise & Shine: Promoting Sleep Quality in Chronic Stroke With Exercise

Inclusion Criteria:

We will include community-dwelling adults who had an ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke at least one year prior to study enrolment and have poor sleep quality - defined as a sleep efficiency of < or = 85%, with allowance for minor upward deviations on individual nights consistent with known night-to-night variability and instrument accuracy limits, and a PSQI global score of > 5. Individuals must also meet these inclusion criteria: 1) aged 55 years and older; 2) a baseline MMSE score of = or > 22/30 and a MoCA score of = or > 19/30; 3) community-dwelling; 4) able to comply with scheduled assessments, classes, and other trial procedures; 5) read, write, and speak English with acceptable visual and auditory acuity; 6) not to start or stable (i.e., = or > 6 months) on a fixed dose of medication that impacts sleep (i.e., anti-arrhythmics, beta blockers, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, etc.) during the 26-week intervention period; 7) able to walk for a minimum of six metres with rest intervals with or without assistive devices; 8) based on interview, have an activity tolerance of 60 minutes with rest intervals; 9) not participating in any regular therapy or progressive exercise (e.g., treadmill or weight-lifting); and 10) able to safely engage in exercise as indicated by the PAR-Q+63 and written confirmation by family or study physicians.

Exclusion Criteria:

We will exclude individuals who: 1) are diagnosed with OSA and are not using CPAP or defined as potentially having undiagnosed OSA (AHI > 20) as a result of study screening; 2) have restless leg syndrome; 3) are diagnosed with dementia of any type; 4) are diagnosed with another type of neurodegenerative or neurological condition (e.g., Parkinson's disease); 5) are planning to participate, or already enrolled in, a clinical drug trial or exercise trial concurrent to this study; 6) are at high risk for cardiac complications during exercise and/or unable to self-regulate activity or to understand recommended activity level; 7) have clinically significant peripheral neuropathy or severe musculoskeletal or joint disease that impairs mobility, as determined by his/her physician; or 8) have aphasia as judged by an inability to communicate by phone.