Sleeping more than eight hours a day has been linked to a higher risk of premature death and disability, according to a recent research.
It’s well known that getting enough sleep is vital for staying healthy, but snoozing excessively is now linked to a higher risk of heart issues and even a higher mortality risk. That’s not to say too much sleeping will directly kill you – but if you’re spending a long time in bed it could be a sign or a symptom of an underlying health problem, or there’s a chance it could be making existing issues worse.
The Researchers looked at data from 74 studies involving more than three million people and found those who slept for 10 hours were 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.
“Our study has an important public health impact, in that it shows that excessive sleep is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk.” Dr. Chun Shing Kwok, the lead study author.
BUT the study does have some limitations: sleep habits were self-reported rather than measured in a lab, so may not be fully accurate. Plus, there might be underlying physical or mental conditions, not recorded in the studies, that had an effect on sleep patterns or risk patterns.
As a result, the researchers can’t say more than eight hours of sleep sleep causes an early death – just that it’s something we should be watching out for as a potential warning sign.