Too much sleep isn’t healthy, either

Too much sleep isn’t healthy, either

By Editorial Staff
ToYourHealth

We’ve run countless articles in To Your Health over the years on the health perils of poor / inadequate sleep. But what could be wrong with too much sleep? According to research, a whole lot when it comes to your health. People who sleep too much – defined by a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association as more than 10 hours a day – are more likely to die from a stroke or heart disease compared with people who sleep eight hours daily.

This research review involved 74 studies and 3 million total study participants. Sleeping for more than 10 hours per day was associated with a 56 percent higher risk of dying from a stroke and a 49 percent higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease compared with eight-hour-a-night sleepers.

Overall, excessive sleepers were 30 percent more likely to die prematurely compared to regular sleepers. In fact, even study participants who regularly slept more than eight hours a night (but less than 10) had a moderate increased risk of premature death compared to people who regularly achieved the recommended 7-8 hours of nightly sleep.

The moral to the story: Sleep is critical to your health, and too much – just like too little – can be a bad thing! Talk to your doctor about sleep wellness and the various factors that can influence the quality of your sleep.