The study, which was carried out by researchers at the University of Cambridge, involved an examination of the sleeping habits of more than 9,000 middle-age and older adults. The study followed participants over a ten-year period.
It found that those people who slept for more than eight hours each evening were approximately 46 per cent more likely to suffer a stroke than people who got an average of six to eight hours of sleep each night.
Researchers aren’t ready to suggest that getting too much sleep causes strokes. Instead, they feel it’s possible over-sleeping may be an early warning sign that something is wrong with the brain.
The researchers behind the study recommend that those people who tend to sleep more than eight hours each night talk to their doctors about the issue. Stroke risk factors include high blood pressure and high cholesterol; making sure these conditions are monitored is an important part of preventing a stroke, experts insist.
In any case, the lead researcher behind the study, Yue Leng, says more research is needed and does not see the study’s results as a reason for people to immediately cut the amount of sleep they get each night.
