New study suggests that sleeping too much increases the risk of premature death

It’s well known that sleeping too little is bad for your health, but a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association has shown that getting too much sleep can also be risky.

Researchers reviewed data from 74 studies involving 3 million people and suggested that excessive sleeping may be a “marker” for poor health. Sleeping for more than 10 hours indicated a higher risk of dying from a stroke (a 56 percent increase) or cardiovascular disease (49 percent).

People who slept for more than 10 hours a night were 30 percent more likely to die prematurely than those who slept for eight hours.

New research suggests that sleeping too much could be risky. (Photo: Rex)
New research suggests that sleeping too much could be risky. (Photo: Rex)

“Abnormal sleep is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk, and greater consideration should be given in exploring both duration and sleep quality during patient consultations,” said the lead researcher, Chun Shing Kwok of Keele University in England.

“There are cultural, social, psychological, behavioral, pathophysiological, and environmental influences on our sleep, such as the need to care for children or family members, irregular working shift patterns, physical or mental illness, and the 24-hour availability of commodities in modern society,” Kwok added.

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