More Than 8 HoursSleep Too Much of a Good Thing

Although the dangersof too little sleep are widely known,new research suggests that people whosleep too much may also suffer the consequences.

Investigators at theUniversity of Californiain San Diegofound that people who clock up 9 or 10 hours each weeknight appear to have moretrouble falling and staying

asleep,as well as anumber of other sleep problems,than people who sleep 8 hours a night. Peoplewho slept only 7 hours each night also said they had more trouble falling

asleep and feelingrefreshed after a night's sleep than 8-hour sleepers.

These findings,whichDL Daniel Kripke reported in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, demonstratethat people who want to get a good night's rest may not need to set

aside more than 8hours a night. He added that it might be a good idea for people who sleep morethan 8 hours each night to consider reducing the amount of time they spend

in bed,but cautionedthat more research is needed to confirm this.

Previous studieshave shown the potential dangers of chronic shortages of sleep,for instance,one report demonstrated that people who habitually sleep less than 7 hours each

night have a higherrisk of dying within a fixed period than people who sleep more.

For the currentreport,Kripke reviewed the responses of 1,004 adults to sleep questionnaires,inwhich participants indicated how much they slept during the week and whether

they experienced anysleep problems.Sleep problems included waking in the middle of thenight,arising early in the morning and being unable to fall back to sleep,andhaving

fatigue interferewith day-to-day functioning.

Kripke found thatpeople who slept between 9 and 10 hours each night were more likely to reportexperiencing each sleep problem than people who slept 8 hours.In an

interview,Kripkenoted that long sleepers may struggle to get rest at night simply because theyspend too much time in bed. As evidence,he added that one way to help

insomnia is to spendless time in bed."It stands to reason that if a person spends too long atime in bed,then they'll spend a higher percentage of time awake,"he said.

To get a goodnight's rest,people may not need to______.

A.fall asleep again

B.become moreenergetic the following day

C.sleep less than 7hours

D.confirm thoseserious consequences

E.suffer sleepproblems