Source : Perth Now news
Getting a lie-in might feel like the ultimate luxury, but regularly spending more than nine hours in bed could be linked to a higher risk of early death.
Scientists found that people who slept for more than nine hours a night had a 17 per cent higher chance of dying from any cause compared with those getting seven to eight hours.
Researchers tracked the sleeping habits of more than 3,000 people over three decades and found mortality was lowest among those sleeping seven to eight hours each night.
There were 10.57 deaths per 1,000 people during the study among this group.
That figure rose slightly to 10.97 among people sleeping fewer than six hours and to 11.27 among those sleeping more than nine hours.
The Taiwanese researchers said the reasons for the association were unclear, but pointed to several possible explanations.
People who sleep for longer periods are more likely to have high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
Longer sleep has also been linked to increased inflammation and may affect the body’s internal clock, hormone regulation and immune system.
The researchers said the findings could eventually help doctors identify people at greater risk of health problems.
Writing in the Journal of Sleep Research, they said: “We found that long sleep duration was associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality, and blood pressure accounted for a modest proportion of this association.
“These findings may have implications for identifying individuals at increased health risk – sleep duration assessment may be incorporated into routine health check-ups to help identify individuals at potentially increased health risk.”
Previous research has also linked excessive sleep with conditions including heart problems, type 2 diabetes, obesity and poorer memory and brain health.
However, the study found an association rather than proving that sleeping for longer directly causes an early death.
Adults are generally advised to get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, meaning an occasional long lie-in is unlikely to be cause for alarm.
But consistently spending nine or more hours asleep could be worth discussing with a doctor, particularly if it is accompanied by other health problems or persistent tiredness.
