One of those people who loves a good lie in? If so, keep reading...
According to new research, sleeping longer than the recommended seven or eight hours a night could be linked to premature death.
74 studies involving over three million people have been studied by researchers who found that people who slept for more than ten hours were 30% more likely to die younger than those who slept for eight hours.
The research was published in the Journal of the American Heart Assosciation and noted that poor sleep quality was linked with a 44% increase in the risk of death from stroke and 49% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Lead researcher Dr Chun Shing Kwok said: “Abnormal sleep is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk and greater consideration should be given in exploring both duration and sleep quality during patient consultations.
“There are cultural, social, psychological, behavioural, pathophysiological and environmental influences on our sleep such as the need to care for children or family members, irregular working shift patterns, physical or mental illness, and the 24-hour availability of commodities in modern society.”
The study, which also involved researchers from the universities of Leeds, Manchester and East Anglia, said the research was limited as duration of sleep was self-reported and that underlying mental or physical conditions may have had an impact on “extreme sleep patterns”.
