Sleep is an important part of stroke recovery. While you’re asleep, your brain repairs and re-wires itself, helping you to relearn skills like walking, speech and swallowing.
Around half of stroke survivors experience sleep problems that disrupt the deep stages of sleep that are vital for recovery. Improving sleep quality could therefore offer an exciting new way to support rehabilitation, as well as overall mood and quality of life.
This is what Stroke Association-funded researcher, Triin Ojakäär, and her team at the University of Oxford, are exploring.
‘I’ve always been fascinated by brain plasticity – the idea that our brains have a remarkable ability to adapt and reorganise themselves throughout our lives,’ says Triin. ‘They do this in response to learning and to overcome injuries such as stroke.
‘Sleep is often underestimated but plays a pivotal role in recovery by supporting the formation of new connections in the brain during rehabilitation. This strengthens memory and helps you learn or re-learn skills. Disrupted sleep has been linked to slower recovery after stroke.’
Triin’s work focuses on improving deep sleep after stroke, particularly a stage called slow‑wave sleep, which is crucial for learning and memory.
As part of her study, Triin asks participants to wear an electroencephalogram (EEG) headband that records brain activity while they sleep, as well as a headband fitted with over-ear speakers.
When the EEG detects slow wave sleep, gentle bursts of sound are delivered through the speakers in time with the brain’s natural activity. Previous research has shown these precisely timed noises can change brain activity during sleep and improve memory.
To test if this could be effective for stroke rehabilitation, Triin then asks participants to complete two memory tasks. She compares their performance and brain activity on the nights when the headset delivered sound and nights when it didn’t.
‘So far, I’ve been able to demonstrate that deep sleep brain waves are enhanced in response to the sound stimulation,’ says Triin. ‘I’m now analysing the memory tasks. If this method is effective, we should see changes in memory performance too.
‘We’re also developing a new headband that measures brain activity and delivers sound in one device. In the long term, we want to create an accessible, user-friendly therapy tool that people can use at home to improve their sleep, and boost their stroke recovery.
‘Stroke survivors are central to my research. Their experiences have been invaluable in shaping our methods and the technology we’re developing, ensuring they’re effective and meet their needs.
‘Volunteers from our patient and public involvement group will also be helping me to interpret the findings and summarise the results, to make sure they’re accessible to the stroke community and wider public.’
After her PhD, Triin plans to run further clinical trials to test the methods and technology her team are developing, to build the evidence needed to get it into clinical practice.
‘The benefits of this research could go far beyond improving memory,’ says Triin. ‘They could lead to new ways to enhance wellbeing, independence, and quality of life for stroke survivors and people living with similar neurological challenges.’
Find out more
Learn more about Triin’s vital work, the other projects we fund and how you can get involved in stroke research.
Stroke News magazine
This article is featured in the summer 2026 edition of our magazine, Stroke News. Subscribe to our future editions available in print, on audio CD or via email.