People enjoy taking naps or extending their sleep to get more energy or relax their minds after a very tiring or stressful task.
However, researchers warned that long naps or sleeping nine or more hours may lead to serious health problems.
A new study, published in the journal Neurology, shows that people who take long naps during the day or sleep more than eight hours at night have a higher risk of having a stroke. The findings come from the analysis of data from 31,750 people in China without history of stroke or other major health problems.
Researchers asked the participants, at an average age of 62, about their sleep and napping habits and followed them for up to six years. During the study, the team recorded 1,557 stroke cases.
Results showed that people who took a regular midday nap for more than 90 minutes had 25 percent higher stroke risk compared to those who took a regular nap of 30 minutes. However, the researchers noted naps lasting from 31 minutes to one hour did not lead to elevated chances of having a stroke.
In the group that slept at night, researchers found that sleeping nine or more hours made participants 23 percent more likely to have a stroke. But the people who slept less than seven hours per night appeared with lower risk.
The participants who were both long nappers and long sleepers had 85 per cent increased stroke risk. Researchers noted that considered factors that could contribute to strokes, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and smoking.
“More research is needed to understand how taking long naps and sleeping longer hours at night may be tied to an increased risk of stroke, but previous studies have shown that long nappers and sleepers have unfavourable changes in their cholesterol levels and increased waist circumferences, both of which are risk factors for stroke,” Xiaomin Zhang, study author from Huazhong University of Science and Technology in China, said in a statement.
“In addition, long napping and sleeping may suggest an overall inactive lifestyle, which is also related to increased risk of stroke.”
The researcher noted their study highlights the importance of moderate napping and sleeping duration to stay healthy. Zhang added people should also prioritize good sleep quality, especially in middle age and older adults, to prevent stroke.
