Sleeping for longer linked to metabolic syndrome in older people

Older adults are more likely to have metabolic syndrome if they sleep for longer than eight hours over a 24-hour period, new research has suggested.

Those who habitually sleep for more than eight hours per day including naps, perhaps while in assisted care, were found to be 15 per cent more likely to have the syndrome than those with normal sleeping habits, according to scientists from the University of Birmingham School of Medicine.

Commenting on the findings, lead author Teresa Arora said: "The most surprising aspect of our study was that long sleep - and not short sleep - was related to the presence of the metabolic syndrome.

"We can recommend that long sleepers reduce the amount of overall sleep they achieve, which may in turn have beneficial effects on their health."

Meanwhile, recent research presented to the annual meeting of Associated Professional Sleep Societies in Texas indicated that people with chronic insomnia could be at an elevated risk of death.

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