Regular extended sleep increases risk of stroke

Sleeping more than nine hours a night or having long daytime naps increases risk of stroke, according to a new study.

Having long daytime naps increases risk of stroke, according to a new study. Photo: The Creative Exchange/Unsplash

The Chinese study examined the sleep habits of 31,750 healthy adults, with an average age of 61.7 years, over a six-year period. In that time there were 1,438 definite and 119 probable stroke cases.

Those who said they had slept nine or more hours a night were 23% more likely to go on to have a stroke than people who slept seven to less than eight hours per night.

Regular daytime nappers who slept for more than 90 minutes were 25% more likely to later have a stroke than people who napped for under half an hour.

People who were both long nappers and long sleepers were 85% more likely to later have a stroke than people who were moderate sleepers and nappers.

People who reported poor quality of sleep were 29% more likely to later have a stroke than people who felt they had slept well. And those who were long sleepers who also had poor sleep quality were 82% more likely to later have a stroke.

Study author Xiaomin Zhang, of Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, said: "More research is needed to understand how taking long naps and sleeping longer hours at night may be tied to an increased risk of stroke, but previous studies have shown that long nappers and sleepers have unfavorable changes in their cholesterol levels and increased waist circumferences, both of which are risk factors for stroke.

"In addition, long napping and sleeping may suggest an overall inactive lifestyle, which is also related to increased risk of stroke." (Tasnim News Agency)

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE

Mass extinction of land and sea biodiversity 250 million years ago not simultaneous

Findings overturn reports of largest mass extinction in Earth's history.

Forest fragmentation hits wildlife hardest in the tropics

Research shows sensitivity to environmental disturbance also exists in temperate zones.

Underwater telecom cables make superb seismic network

Fiber-optic cables could help scientists study offshore earthquakes.

Graphene: The more you bend it, the softer it gets

How much energy does it take to bend multilayer graphene?

Fresh red blood cell transfusions do not help critically ill children more than older cells

Researchers have found that transfusions using fresh red blood cells—cells that have spent seven days or less in storage—are no more beneficial than older red blood cells in reducing the risk of organ failure or death in critically ill children.

Whales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes

Bowhead whales' gut microbes play important roles in the whales' health.