Sleeping is so important when you've had a stroke. It matters in ways that go deep inside the brain. But, it also matters if one side of your body is paralyzed. You see, my right arm was paralyzed and every night before going to sleep I would position it so that it was under my head. Thus my hand would be flattened by my head and, since I had no way to move it, it would stay that way until I woke up in the morning. Not very scientific, but it was a passive exercise that I did for at least 10 hours a day. That's pretty good when you think about it. I did active exercises when I was awake, although nobody could tell that I was doing them. I mean, trying to move a body part that does not want to move is a very active exercise. I would just sit on the couch and will my arm to move. At first it was just a slight movement of a finger, the faintest hint of my elbow bending. After about 2 months I was able to move my arm again. It looks perfectly normal to the untrained eye. Even the trained eye has to look carefully.