Sleep
Sleeping for more than eight hours a night could lead to an early death, new research suggests.
A global study led by Keele University has found that people who regularly make time for more sleep could end up with a “serious sleep disorder” that disrupts their breathing and causes an increased risk of heart disease.
As a result, the researchers, who looked at data from 74 studies, said that excessive sleep could be a “marker” of poor health.
Published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the
study examined the link between self-reported sleep, cardiovascular
disease and mortality in more than three million participants from 1970
to 2017.
The scientists found that a sleep duration of ten hours is linked
with 30 per cent increased risks of early death compared to sleeping for
seven hours.
The study also revealed a 56 per cent increased risk of stroke
mortality and a 49 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular mortality
for those who slept for more than eight hours.
Lead researcher Dr Chun Shing Kwok, who works at Keele University’s Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, explains: “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
during 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 apnoea, which is a serious sleep disorder that occurs
when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep.”
The study, which also found that poor sleep quality was associated
with a 44 per cent increase in coronary heart disease, is one of many
that highlight the impact sleep can have on a person’s physical health.
Last month, the University of Sydney revealed that oxygen
deprivation caused by sleep apnoea could cause your brain to shrink in
the regions which play an important role in memory and which are also
affected by dementia.
Similarly, a recent study by the University of Glasgow found that
an insufficient amount of sleep could also be detrimental to your mental
health.
The findings concluded that a disrupted circadian rhythm can lead
to an increased possibility of developing mood disorders and lower
levels of happiness.
-Culled from The Independent