Oversleeping: Wake up to the risks
At the beginning of the 1999 comedy "Office Space," corporate tech worker Peter's hypnotherapist dies in the middle of his session, leaving him in a trance. As a result, he doesn't care about his job, which he hates. The next morning, he lies in bed ignoring repeated voicemails from his boss, and doesn't get up until 3:30 p.m., at which point his girlfriend leaves a voice message telling him she's breaking up with him.
Peter discovered what a new analysis of 74 studies confirms: Oversleeping can cause serious problems! The research, reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that people who sleep for more than eight hours a night are more likely to die over a set time period than folks who sleep the recommended seven to eight hours. And if you push it to 10 or more hours nightly? Then you have a 50 percent higher risk of death from stroke and a 49 percent higher chance of death from heart disease.
The researchers think that heart woes can come first, causing exhaustion and oversleeping. But if depression, for example, is making you stay hidden under the covers, then chances are you aren't eating right, exercising regularly or enjoying a supportive social life - all risk factors for heart disease, too.
So if you find yourself hibernating, get a heart health checkup. Then talk to your doc about starting talk therapy and a nutrition and exercise redo. Also, set your alarm for eight hours after you go to bed.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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