People who take long naps are at greater risk of having a stroke, research suggests.
A 90-minute snooze was linked to a 25% greater chance of the condition in a study of 32,000 people.
And those sleeping at least nine hours overnight were 23% more likely to have a stroke in the next six years, when compared to those sleeping seven or eight hours.
Xiaoming Zhang, of Huazhong University, in Wuhan, China, said: “This highlights the importance of moderate napping and sleeping, and maintaining good sleep quality, especially in older adults.
"Long napping and sleeping may suggest an overall inactive lifestyle – related to increased risk of stroke.”
The study looked at people of average age 62 and lasted six years
Of the long nappers, 1% of cases per person-years later had a stroke, compared to 0.7% of cases per person-years of the moderate nappers - suggesting the raised risk should not be of too much concern.
Previous studies suggest short afternoon naps boost wellbeing.
Dr Zhang added: “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.
“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.
“Long napping and sleeping may suggest an overall inactive lifestyle, which is also related to increased risk of stroke.”
The findings are published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
