Sleeping nine or 10 hours boosted that risk to 17%, and with more than 10 hours the risk rose to 41%, reported a study in the European Heart Journal. Sleeping fewer than six hours had a 9% higher risk of such health effects, a difference the researchers deemed not statistically significant.
Napping during the day could also increase risk in those who already slept more than six hours a night, the study reported.
During the eight-year monitoring period, 4,381 participants died and 4,365 had major cardiovascular events.
The researchers controlled for age, activity level and health characteristics such as depression, diabetes, alcohol consumption and smoking, The New York Times noted. But the researchers did say findings could have been influenced by health factors not readily apparent.
"Even though the findings were very interesting they don't prove cause and effect," Julie Ward, a senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, who was not involved in the study, told CNN.
In fact, it could be an underlying health problem causing a person to sleep more than the recommended amount of time, CNN reported.
Either way, as The New York Times said, there is clearly a "sweet spot" for hours of sleep.
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