Too Much Sleep Can Kill You, Scientists Say

Anyone who sleeps more than nine hours a night, moves little and sits for long periods of time is living on dangerous ground. Researchers at the University of Sydney have now discovered this.

Long sleeping can be harmful

Researchers at the University of Sydney have found that it is unhealthy to sleep more than nine hours a night. In combination with long periods of sitting and a general lack of exercise, long sleep is just as bad for the body as alcohol and cigarettes. “Our study shows that we should take these three behaviours together very seriously,” study author Dr. Melody Ding explained to the British newspaper The Daily Mail.

The scientists evaluated around 230,000 data from Australian participants, whose average age was over 45 years. They examined health risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, unhealthy diet or little exercise. In a second step, the experts linked these data to two popular activities: sitting and sleeping. They published the results of their study in the trade journal “PLOS ONE”.

What else does the study say?

The Australian researchers’ study not only looks at long sleep with a critical eye. People who get less than seven hours of sleep per night also do not live healthy lives. The following combination is particularly fatal: little sleep, cigarettes and regular alcohol consumption. In these people, the risk of premature death is four times higher.

The aim of the study was to combine different risk factors. As co-author Adrian Baumann points out, it simply does not make sense to examine the factors individually. In general, the understanding of the combination of risk factors and their effects should be sharpened in order to combat problems in a more targeted manner.