Sleep research Too much sleep promotes deadly heart disease

Those who sleep too much risk serious heart disease

Sleep is the most important tool that is available to our body for regeneration. Numerous studies have already shown that lack of sleep increases the risk of a variety of diseases. An international research team showed in a large study that too much sleep is anything but healthy. Those who sleep more than eight hours regularly can increase the risk of developing heart disease by more than 40 percent, warn the researchers.

International researchers led by McMaster University in Canada recently published a study examining the relationship between total sleep duration and the risk of major cardiovascular events. It showed that a total sleep time of six to eight hours per day is associated with the lowest risk of death and serious heart disease. The total sleep time included the afternoon nap. The results have recently appeared in the European Heart Journal, with data from more than 110,000 participants from seven different regions of the world.

Those who sleep too much or too little risk their health. In particular, sleep times over ten hours are associated with a greatly increased risk of heart disease. Sleep researchers recommend six to eight hours daily including afternoon nap. (Image: Lars Zahner / fotolia.com)

21 countries, seven regions - one result

The data of the participants was collected in total from 21 different countries from seven regions of the world in order to make a globally valid statement. The 116,632 adult participants were observed over a period of nearly eight years. During this period, there were 4,381 deaths and 4,365 major cardiovascular events such as a heart attack or stroke. The evaluation showed that little sleep increases the likelihood of such incidents, but too much sleep has a dramatic effect on the risk.

How sleep affects your heart health

Researchers came to the following conclusions: out of every 10,000 people who slept regularly for six to eight hours, 78 people suffered serious cardiovascular events or died within the eight years. With 10,000 people slept less than six hours, this number increased to 94 people. This corresponds to an increase of the disease risk by around 10 percent. There were 84 cases in 10,000 people sleeping eight to nine hours, which equates to a five percent increase in disease risk. In the group, which slept for nine to ten hours, 104 serious heart diseases or deaths per 10,000 people were found - the risk of cardiovascular disease increases in this group by 17 percent. The increase was strongest among those who slept for more than ten hours. Here, there was an increased risk of heart disease and death by 41 percent.

Dangerous afternoon nap

Furthermore, the researchers showed that nap can have a positive as well as a negative impact on overall health. There were positive effects in the group, which slept less than six hours at night, but had negative effects in those who had already reached the ideal sleep duration. Thus, the heart attack and stroke risks are to be seen in relation to the total amount that was slept in one day.

Who sleeps longer is early death?

More than eight hours of sleep per night are rather unhealthy for the heart, Norwegian researchers have already stated in a previous study. But in sleep, the brain detoxifies. This reduces the risk of developing dementias such as Alzheimer's. Although personal sleep varies from person to person, research in this area shows that the healthiest workload is between six and eight hours. (Vb)