My wife 77 yrs had a stroke in October 2023. She experiences fatigue and needs resting / sleeping every 3 hours on average. Sleeps well at night. Fatigue is increasing now - meaning the time period between rests is reducing. Is this normal. What can be done to reduce fatigue?

Hello Frederick,

Thank you for reaching out to StrokeLine at the Stroke Foundation of Australia. I am sorry to hear about your wife’s stroke and the difficulties she is having with fatigue.  

Fatigueis very common after a stroke and can be described as a feeling of weariness, tiredness, or lack of energy.Symptoms offatiguecan include headache, dizziness, blurred vision, increased pain, aching muscles and reduced coordination and balance. Other symptoms include ‘brain fog’, impaired memory and decision-making, moodiness or irritability, anxiety and depression or low motivation.  

However, given you have described your wife’s fatigue as worsening, I would recommend a medical review with her GP or Neurologist to ensure her symptoms are consistent with post stroke fatigue and to rule out anything else that may be contributing to fatigue.  If it is confirmed that your wife is experiencing post stroke fatigue. You may find the information below helpful.

You may find more information about fatigue on our EnableMe website here or the Stroke Foundation website here. 

It can be difficult to say exactly how long these feelings of fatigue will last. However, there are things that you can do to help managefatigue.It is important to balance activity, rest levels, and understand that it is normal for it to take time to return to previous energy levels post stroke.  

An Occupational Therapist can assist with energy conservationmanagementtechniques that may be helpful to combatfatigue. You can search for a local Occupational therapist by talking with your GP or through Occupational Therapy Australia (Ph. 1300 682 878) here.   

One way of personally managing your fatigue is through Pacing, Planning, and Prioritising.  

 Pacing is spreading out the activities you do and using numerous shorter breaks instead of one long break after an activity.   

 Planning is understanding what activities you are doing and when, making sure not to group up too many similar activities together. Eg spread out appointments. This also means assessing which activities make you feel more, or less, fatigued for future planning  

 Prioritising mean understanding what you need to do and what can wait. If you have a limit to what you can do each day you can plan to do those things which are important and save unimportant things for other days. 

There have also been several research studies on stroke and its impacts, which you may find here and here. 

Additional Resources 

·         Podcast and Transcript on Fatigue 

·         Fatigue after stroke fact sheet 

·         Hints & Hacks | i-REBOUND (enableme.org.au) 

·         Conserving energy tips from Julie #1 | i-REBOUND (enableme.org.au) 

·         Managing Fatigue – StrokeNSW  

·         Practical ways to reduce fatigue blog | enableme - stroke recovery and support 

·         (International Resource) Tiredness and fatigue after stroke | Stroke Association UK 

·         (International Resources) Fatigue | Headway or the PDF print (headway.org.uk) 

If you would like more information, please do not hesitate to contact us on StrokeLine 1800 787 653 or email strokeline@strokefoundation.org.au. We are available Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm AEST. 

Wishing you the best, 

Jo (StrokeLine)

I agree with Jo's advice above. I found that when I changed my routine or increase my abilities (e.g. physio exercise advancement), I became wearier for a little while. This may be the brain performing rewiring whilst the body also adapts,and these actions take more energy than I thought! It can also arise from change of seasons or emotions. But for peace of mind, please do consult a physician.

Thanks for your comment Alir! Great Advice!

Jo (Strokeline)

I'm 4 1/2 years post-stroke and still suffer from fatigue. I needed afternoon naps when I first came out of hospital. I could only manage to walk a few hundred metres at first, but slowly increased my distance (and degree of difficulty). I also attended Tai Chi classes for a while, mainly to help with balance. The instructor also ran classes in aged care homes where all the exercises could be done while seated. Try to find some exercise activity that can be adjusted to your wife's current energy levels. What I have found useful lately is to attend a gym (associated with an aged care home) where my exercise program is designed and managed by exercise physiologists, who have experience in dealing with stroke patients. After a year of increasing my routine, I still suffer from fatigue, but I can get a lot more done before I have to take a break.