Researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City studied 93,676 postmenopausal women and found that those who regularly slept nine hours or more were 70 percent more likely to have an ischemic stroke, compared with women who slept seven hours a night.
Also, women who slept six hours or less per night had a 14 percent higher risk of stroke compared to those who slept seven hours a night. An ischemic stroke is the most common type of stroke caused by a blockage in an artery supplying blood to the brain.
Researchers cautioned that the new results do not suggest that if women reduce the amount of time they sleep from over nine hours, that they would lower their stroke risk. However, the increased risk of stroke was only found in postmenopausal women ages 50 to 79 and not applicable for younger men and women, researchers say.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) most adults should get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Children ages 5 through 12 should get 9 to 11 hours, and adolescents need 8.5 to 9.5.
