Stroke Risk Increased With Excessive Sleep Periods

Sleep is pretty important. A recent study shows us that chronic insomnia can increase overall mortality risk. However, on a similar note, people who sleep too much or more than 8 hours a night, could be at an increased stroke risk.

Recent findings published in the journal Neurology show a link between prolonged sleep periods and stroke risk. However, researchers are still unaware of the underlying mechanism relating the two. The new study also indicates that the association exists regardless of normal risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge studied about 10,000 people between the ages of 41-81 from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC)-Norfolk. They questioned participants about how many hours they slept on average and their quality of sleep. Seven out of 10 participants slept between 6 and 8 hours a day, while one in 10 slept for more than 8 hours a day.

Throughout the study period, 346 people suffered a stroke. Findings revealed that sleeping over 8 hours a day was associated with a 46 percent increased stroke risk. Furthermore, the risk was higher for those who increased the number of hours they slept over a four-year period.

"It's apparent both from our own participants and the wealth of international data that there's a link between sleeping longer than average and a greater risk of stroke," Yue Leng, a doctoral candidate at the University of Cambridge, said in a news release. "What is far less clear, however, is the direction of this link, whether longer sleep is a symptom, an early marker or a cause of cardiovascular problems."

For future studies, researchers hope to better understand the association between stroke risk and sleep.

"What is happening in the body that causes this link?" concluded Kay-Tee Khaw, senior author on the study. "With further research, we may find that excessive sleep proves to be an early indicator of increased stroke risk, particularly among older people."