Oversleeping: Wake up to the risks

At the beginning of the 1999 comedy “Office Space,” corporate tech worker Peter’s hypnotherapist dies in the middle of his session, leaving him in a trance. As a result, he doesn’t care about his job, which he hates. The next morning, he lies in bed ignoring repeated voicemails from his boss, and doesn’t get up until 3:30 p.m., at which point his girlfriend leaves a voice message telling him she’s breaking up with him.

Peter discovered what a new analysis of 74 studies confirms: Oversleeping can cause serious problems! The research, reported in the Journal of the American Heart Association, found that people who sleep for more than eight hours a night are more likely to die over a set time period than folks who sleep the recommended seven to eight hours. And if you push it to 10 or more hours nightly? Then you have a 50 percent higher risk of death from stroke and a 49 percent higher chance of death from heart disease.

The researchers think that heart woes can come first, causing exhaustion and oversleeping. But if depression, for example, is making you stay hidden under the covers, then chances are you aren’t eating right, exercising regularly or enjoying a supportive social life -- all risk factors for heart disease, too.

So if you find yourself hibernating, get a heart health checkup. Then talk to your doc about starting talk therapy and a nutrition and exercise redo. Also, set your alarm for eight hours after you go to bed.

A Brief History of Boxers’ Benefits

When Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, knocked out Sonny Liston in the first round of the 1965 World Heavyweight Title fight, he was on his way to one of the most illustrious, and ultimately bruising, careers in boxing history. His development of Parkinson’s disease has been linked to his 22 years spent in the ring.

But if you’re a guy looking to start or expand your family, when it comes to your underwear, it’s briefs that are bruisers and boxers that help you dodge serious damage.

We told you a couple years ago that guys who wore boxers during the day and slept naked at night had 25 percent less DNA damage to their sperm than men who wore snug briefs around the clock. Well, we now know that boxers go a couple rounds further.

Researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health have found that not only are boxer-wearers’ sperm healthier, but those guys have a 25 percent higher concentration of the healthy sperm, a 17 percent higher total sperm count and 33 percent more swimming sperm than men who wear tight-fitting briefs.

The reason? Sperm is sensitive to temperatures above 92 degrees. Your body is normally 98 degrees, and briefs keep the testicles close to the body. Boxer shorts are looser and cooler, and get close to allowing for the au natural position of the testicles, which is down and away from the body. In short, it’s no contest: Wear boxers for better sperm.

Catch Up With The HPV Vaccine

“Ketchup, Catch Up!” is a children’s book written by Fran Manushkin about a young monkey named Ketchup who is slower than all the other monkeys. Because he’s so slow, he comes in last in every monkey activity. But if you or your daughter have been slow to get her HPV vaccines, she doesn’t have to come in last. You now have more time to catch up!

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of“The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into“The Dr. Oz Show” or visit