Too Much Sleep Can Actually Be Very Bad for You

You may crave for the weekend so you get that extra few hours of much-needed sleep.

But it turns out sleeping longer than the recommended seven or eight hours a night could be doing you more harm than good, experts have warned.

New research shows that people who sleep for 10 hours are 30% more likely to die prematurely than those who slept for eight.

Staying in bed for more than 10 hours was also linked to a 56% increased risk of death from stroke and a 49% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Poor sleep quality was associated with a 44% increase in coronary heart disease, according to the study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Researchers, who looked at data from 74 studies involving more than three million people, said their study suggests abnormal sleep could be ‘a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk” and said GPs ought to ask questions about sleeping patterns during appointments.’

Dr Chun Shing Kwok, lead researcher and clinical lecturer at Keele University’s Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, said: ‘Our study has an important public health impact in that it shows that excessive sleep is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk.

‘Our findings have important ­implications as clinicians should have greater consideration for exploring sleep duration and quality in ­consultations.

‘If excessive sleep patterns are found, particularly prolonged ­durations of eight hours or more, then clinicians should consider screening for adverse ­cardiovascular risk factors and ­obstructive sleep apnea, which is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep.’

The study, which also involved researchers from the universities of Leeds, Manchester and East Anglia, said the research was limited as duration of sleep was self-reported and that underlying mental or physical conditions may have had an impact on ‘extreme sleep patterns’.

Adults who usually sleep for less than six hours are also at risk of dying.

But until now less focus has been paid to those who sleep more than the recommended amount.

Dr Kwok added: ‘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.

‘There are cultural, social, psychological, behavioural, 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.’

Source: Metro.co.uk