UK (BBN)-People who sleep for more than eight hours a day are more likely to have a stroke, research has shown- but experts do not know the reason why.
A study of nearly 10,000 people carried out at the University of Cambridge found that those who took eight hours on average had a 46 per cent higher than average risk of having a stroke, reports The Independent.
Adults tend to need between six and nine hours sleep to feel well-rested, but oversleeping has previously been linked with health problems such as diabetes or obesity.
However, it was unclear from this latest study whether sleeping for more than eight hours was actually causing the kind of cardiovascular problems that can lead to stroke, or whether it was merely an indicator or symptom of underlying conditions.
The study looked at people aged between 42 and 81 years of age.
Researchers tracked their sleeping habits over nearly 10 years, in which time 346 of the participants suffered a stroke.
After adjusting for risk factors such as age and gender, people who said they slept for more than eight hours were found to have a 46 per cent higher risk.
Those who slept for less than six hours, meanwhile, had an 18 per cent increased risk, although the researchers said there were so few people in this category that the finding may not be reliable.
Seven out of 10 participants reported sleeping between six and eight hours a day, and one in 10 said they slept for more than eight hours.
BBN/SK/AD-26Feb15-5:30pm (BST)