Over sleeping may up stroke risk

People who sleep nine or more hours per night are 23 per cent more likely to later have a stroke than people who sleep seven to less than eight hours per night, warns a new study. The results revealed that long naps are also not good for your health. People who took a regular midday nap lasting more than 90 minutes were 25 per cent more likely to later have a stroke than people who took a regular nap lasting not more than 30 minutes, said the study published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Previous studies have shown that long nappers and sleepers have unhealthy cholesterol levels and increased waist circumferences, both risk factors for stroke. Long napping and sleeping may suggest an inactive lifestyle, also related to increased stroke risk, said an expert.

Poor diet raises risk of vision loss in later life

If you want to protect your vision in old age, make sure to eat healthy. Researchers have found those eating a diet high in red and processed meat, fried food, refined grains and high-fat dairy products may be three times more likely to develop an eye condition that damages the retina and affects a person’s central vision. It is called late stage age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an irreversible condition that affects a person’s central vision, taking away their ability to drive, among other common daily activities. Treatment is invasive and expensive, and there is no treatment for geographic atrophy, other form of late AMD that also causes vision loss, said an expert. The results suggest that a western dietary pattern may be a risk factor for developing late AMD.

— Agencies