A new study carried out by the University of Cambridge has revealed that getting too much sleep may in fact increase the risk of having a stroke. According to the research, older people who sleep for longer than eight hours per night are at double the risk. The study, which was supported by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council, focused on 10,000 people aged between 42 to 81 years, and was carried out over a ten-year period. During that time frame, 346 of those taking part suffered from a stroke and taking this, plus other factors into account, it was determined that 46% of those who slept for longer than eight hours were  at a greater risk of stroke. “It’s apparent both from our own participants and the wealth of international data that there’s a link between sleeping longer than average and a greater risk of stroke,” said Yue Leng of the University of Cambridge. “What is far less clear, however, is the direction of this link, whether longer sleep is a symptom, an early marker or a cause of cardiovascular problems.” Meanwhile, senior author Kay-Tee Khaw added: “We need to understand the reasons behind the link between sleep and stroke risk. “What is happening in the body that causes this link? With further research, we may find that excessive sleep proves to be an early indicator of increased stroke risk, particularly among older people.”