Often, doctors recommend people who are at heightened risk of stroke get some rest, better sleep, and not to overwork.
This may, however, be faulty advice according to a new study from the University of Cambridge.
In fact, getting more rest may actually increase your stroke risk 46%. But it’s a specific kind of rest that should be avoided.
Researchers used data from 9,692 people from Norfolk, England and followed up about their lifestyle habits and health history for ten years. In that time, 346 people suffered one or more stroke.
Interestingly, those who slept more than eight hours per day on the average were 46% more likely to suffer a stroke than those who slept 6-8 hours.
Those who slept less than six hours were also slightly more likely to suffer a stroke than the average sleepers.
This shows that although getting a good night’s sleep is important, more is not always better. Rather than sleeping 9-10 hours, use the free time for a light workout, socializing and relaxing in other ways.
One thing you can do is lower your blood pressure naturally using a set of 3 easy exercises. Thousands of readers have used these exercises to bring their blood pressure below 120/80 – sometimes the very first day.
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Quoting you: 'Interestingly, those who slept more than eight hours per day on the average were 46% more likely to suffer a stroke than those who slept 6-8 hours.' You then go on to conclude CAUSE and EFFECT, i.e., more than 8h sleep (CAUSE) = more likely to suffer stroke (EFFECT). Sorry, this is just a simple correlation, you get zero on your logic test! In fact, if there were any cause and effect, it would probably be exactly the opposite: people who have had strokes (CAUSE) may feel more tired and thus more apt to sleep more than 8h (EFFECT). I would be happy to apologize if I have somehow misconstrued the logic in this case, so please explain how your logic is correct and mine is flawed. C.H., just an old prof, UdeMontréal
Hey there old prof Chris-tophe R Hopper,
I’m no olde professor, but I have to disagree with you. If this article correctly reports the “new study from the University of Cambridge” when it says “Researchers used data from 9,692 people from Norfolk, England and followed up about their lifestyle habits and health history for ten years. In that time, 346 people suffered one or more stroke”, then (albeit rather poorly worded and grammatically incorrect), this does seem to show a Cause and Effect type relationship, since it is apparently counting strokes after the sleep patterns are established, not before. Of course, there may well be some other factor(s) not accounted for, such as diet, alcohol consumption or other cause(s), which lead(s) to longer sleeping habits, and which are the true cause of the strokes, but we can’t tell. This, of course, is the problem with all these so-called scientific studies…
Al from NZ
Further:
I don’t know about you, but my experience, and those of the people closest to me go as follows:
If I (likewise, they) have too little sleep, I wake up feeling tired and under-rested and below par. If I oversleep, I feel something similar (but a bit different). Below par and “thick” – slow, lethargic and dull. If I oversleep, my whole day is messed up, which is different from undersleeping. Somewhere in between is the optimum combination, the happy medium (median?)
My (and their) feeling(s) upon rising reflect the results of this study.
I find that the most interesting thing of all. The body already knows this. We don’t really need scientific studies to tell us what we have evolved, over millions of years, to know. If you wake up feeling sub-par due to under or over sleep, you are. And you are jeopardising your future health. The body knows…
Dear Al from NZ – Thanks for responding. 1st response: still correlation, no causality, but perhaps there is something I could have missed… 2nd response: yes, same for me
Have a great day, week, and month!
Hi again Prof Chris,
Ok, I’m no expert… If this is merely Correlation, how would (could?) a Cause and Effect relationship be established / confirmed?
And thanks! I’m wishing for a great year too, but the signs so far are not favourable. I’m wondering when the next GFC (the Big One) is going to start.