Although sleep is amazing, a new study suggests that too much of it is a bad thing.
A study that has been published online in the journal Neurology reportedly found that people who sleep more than eight hours a night have a significantly higher risk for stroke compared to those who sleep the suggested six to eight hours, according to Yahoo Health.
Yue Leng of the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge in the UK and the other researchers reportedly stated that it’s not entirely clear whether sleeping more than eight hours a night is a cause or result of stroke, according to the outlet Medical News Today.
“It is more likely that extended sleep duration could serve as an early warning sign of increased stroke risk ,particularly in older people,” explained Leng.
She added, “In any case, the finding should not be interpreted as ‘restrict sleep duration so as to cut stroke risk.’”
For the study, researchers reportedly followed 9,600 adults, averaging the age of 62, for about 10 years. During that period of time, the participants who reported sleeping more than eight hours per night were reportedly 46 percent more likely to have a stroke.
Researchers even accounted for factors including high blood pressure and physical activity, but the results of the finding reportedly remained the same. Less than six hours of sleep was also reportedly associated with a small increase in stroke risk, although the increase wasn’t as significant as when people got too much sleep.
“It is worth noting excessive sleep as an early sign of increased stroke risk, particularly among older people,” the study authors reportedly wrote.
The recent study has opened our eyes to how telling sleep is when it comes to assessing our health.
“Generally speaking, when individuals are not healthy, there is a tendency to want to sleep more, It’s the body’s natural response,” W. Christopher Winter, MD, owner of Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine stated.
He added, “The chemicals are working toward trying to restore health to the individual, but in the meantime they’re feeding back to certain parts of the brain that regulate fatigue.”
