Oversleeping can be early sign of Alzheimer's

For all of us who pride ourselves in oversleeping think again as it just might be a cause of worry.

Scientists have discovered that sleeping more than nine hours a night can be an early warning sign of Alzheimer's, reports The Independent.

We all suffer from the inability to get out of bed after over sleeping. This inability could be a symptom of Alzheimer's, according to scientists

The research revealed that people in US who consistently slept for more than nine hours every night are twice as likely to develop the chronic disease or other forms of dementia. People, who don’t have a high school diploma, have six-fold increased risk of developing the diseases.

Self-reported sleep duration may be a useful clinical tool to help predict persons at risk of progressing to clinical dementia within 10 years, said lead author Dr Matthew Pase, from Boston University Medical Center. “Persons reporting long sleep time may warrant assessment and monitoring for problems with thinking and memory.”

For the research, more than 2,400 patients sleep cycle was observed and analysed. A total of 234 cases of dementia were recorded over the follow-up period.

Sleeping for more than nine hours more than doubled the risk of both all types of dementia and specifically Alzheimer's. It was also associated with smaller brain volume.

The research is reported in the journal Neurology.