OKLAHOMA CITY — Single session tickets for the 2015 WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship (JWWC), which will be held August 9-15 in Oklahoma City, Okla., are available for purchase online, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today. The Junior World Championship, a World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) sanctioned event, will include 18 of the top teams in the world.

The following countries are scheduled to appear: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Columbia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela.

Click here to place your order or CALL 1-800-654-8337 (8 am-4 pm CST Monday-Friday).

“We’re excited to host the WBSC Junior Women’s World Championship for the first time at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex,” said Craig Cress, Executive Director of ASA/USA Softball. “Oklahoma City is known to many as the ‘Softball Capital of the World.’ Hosting this Championship further cements that legacy. Fans of the sport will be exposed to the future stars of international softball. The single-session ticket will provide spectators the chance to see whichever games they are most interested in or come the days that best suit their schedule.”

The general admission single-session tickets will allow fans the opportunity to pick which days they plan on attending during the Championship. All single-session tickets are good for the entire day and can be picked up at ticket will-call at the ASA Hall of Fame Complex. There are no shipping options for single-session tickets.

In addition to single-session tickets, fans have the option to purchase the Gold Pass. The Gold Pass includes all-session tickets for the seven day event, official event t-shirt, and a program for the international event. This Pass also will provide fans with the opportunity to have a personalized name slide on the video board at OG&E Energy Field at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, with additional photo opportunities. Fans that hold the Gold Pass will also have open seating in the reserved Gold Pass section (click here to view seating chart), providing spectators the chance to see every pitch from the best seats in the house. Tickets will be shipped out in July.

The WBSC JWWC, will include some of the top teams in the world, including Team USA who will look to reclaim the Gold Medal after falling 4-0 to Japan at the 2013 WBSC JWWC in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.  This also marks the first time since 1987 that the WBSC JWWC has been held in Oklahoma City.  The complete game schedule for the WBSC JWWC will be announced at a later date.

For updates, including the future announcement of participating countries, check or the tournament website 2015JWWC.com. Fans can also visit www.wbsc.co for more information.

About ASA/USA Softball
Founded in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball is the National Governing Body Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, ASA/USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 74 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 million.  ASA/USA is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles as well as claimed eight World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about ASA/USA Softball, please visit http://www.asausasoftball.com/.

About the World Baseball Softball Confederation

Headquartered in the Olympic Capital city of Lausanne, Switzerland, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) was established in April 2013 and granted recognition as the sole competent authority in baseball and softball by the International Olympic Committee at the 125th IOC Session in September 2013. The WBSC represents a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes worldwide. The WBSC governs all international competitions involving any of the National Teams of its 141 National Federation members.  The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships, The Premier 12, the World Baseball Classic, and the U12, U15, U18, U21 and Women’s Baseball World Cups.  For further information, please go to www.WBSC.co or follow the WBSC on Twitter at @WBSC_co

— Courtesy of ASA/USA Softball

Be aware that SPOILERS are ahead for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Continue at your own peril.

Creator J.K. Rowling is known for adding intense plot twists in the Harry Potter universe, and the narrative for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is no different.

At the end of the film, the kind-hearted and upbeat Queenie Goldstein, portrayed by Alison Sudol, can be seen joining Grindelwald on the “dark side,” shocking everyone but herself.

In an interview with EW, Sudol spoke about her character’s twist, and why she understands the decision Queenie makes.

Sudol first heard about Queenie’s eventual change while promoting the first Fantastic Beasts film, and like fans reactions, was shocked.

“I was like, wait, how did this happen?” Sudol said. “It took a long time in my imagination to even begin to understand. And throughout the course of the film, to just begin to reconcile who she was in the beginning with the choices that she makes and realize she isn’t a different person she’s just abandoned in a really untenable circumstance.”

“I feel like in some ways she’s too there and that’s part of the problem,” Sudol continued. “She’s tapping into all human beings at all times and that’s a lot for one person to hold and everybody closest to her is always going, ‘Don’t read my mind.’ So she has a huge power and yet is made to feel like she’s nothing and that’s bad. That could make anyone feel crazy. And women historically have this huge intuition and have been punished for that intuition forever. How many women have been in a mental institution because they’ve been called crazy when they’re just not allowed to be honest or be who they are?”

In terms of why Queenie stepped through the blue flames to join Grindelwald in his circle, she explains that came down to her feeling abandoned by those closest to her.

“Jacob doesn’t come with her,” Sudol said. “It’s not so much about Jacob not coming with her to the dark side, it’s like, ‘Jacob, walk with me, we’re in this together.’ And she doesn’t have those two, so who does she have? Newt’s kind of betrayed her — he called her out, it was embarrassing. What does she have?”

Overall, Sudol thinks Queenie is going to fight for what’s right, but that right now, Grindelwald is the only one giving her hope – even though he’s really just trying to manipulate her.

“I still believe in her heart of hearts she’s going over to fight what she believes in,” she said. “Grindelwald is saying, ‘we’re creating a different world’ and the world that she is in is broken. I don’t believe she’s turning evil. It’s more like she’s trying to find somebody who is giving her an option. He’s manipulating her but he’s manipulating everybody. He even did that with Dumbledore.”

For more on the second installment in the Fantastic Beasts franchise, read our review of The Crimes of Grindelwald, and find out how Ezra Miller completely misunderstood the film’s plot twist at first, and why the cameo of Professor McGonagall has fans upset.

Jessie Wade is a Ravenclaw news writer for IGN, but is also part Hufflepuff. Follow her on Twitter @jessieannwade and let her know which house you were sorted into on Pottermore.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the eighth week this season and the 11th consecutive week overall, unbeaten two-time defending national champion Tufts University is the unanimous choice atop the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III Top 25 softball rankings.

Tufts (16-0) swept Babson in its only games last week to extend its win streak to 18 games. The Jumbos have now won 49 of their last 50 and have received all eight first-place votes going back to last April. They have been ranked No. 1 in 12 of the last 15 polls and 17 of the last 21.

Texas-Tyler (25-1) suffered its first loss of the season to No. 3 East Texas Baptist (17-2), but took two of three in that series and had a 5-1 week overall to wrest the No. 2 spot from last year’s Division III runner-up Salisbury (20-3). The Sea Gulls were swept by new No. 15 Christopher Newport (19-6) in a 2-2 week to drop to sixth after holding at least a share of the No. 2 spot for the past nine weeks, going back to May 30, 2014.

The Captains’ two wins over Salisbury were part of a 4-0 week and eight-game win streak that moved them up six places in the poll. Luther (25-1) lost its first game on Monday against Wisconsin-Stevens Point, while Rowan (25-0) remained unbeaten to each continue their climb up the rankings, to fourth and fifth, respectively.

Virginia Wesleyan (22-4) added four more wins to go from 11th to sixth, while No. 13 Central (23-6) extended its win streak to seven games to gain another three places this week.

Texas Lutheran (26-4) — which has won 23 straight games — debuts appropriately in the No. 23 spot, while Birmingham-Southern (22-6-1) — the winner of 14 of its last 15 — picked up its first votes of the season. Lake Forest (18-4) returns in the receiving votes category following an one-week hiatus on the strength of a 4-0 week and eight-game win streak.

Four schools — No. 10 North Central (15-1), No. 11 Wisconsin-Whitewater (15-3), No. 18 Augustana (18-7-1) and No. 19 Rochester (10-7) — picked up two spots apiece this week.

Simpson (22-6) tumbled 12 places to No. 22 following an 1-3 week, while last week’s No. 24 Kean (12-5), and No. 25 schools George Fox (24-8) and The College of New Jersey (12-6) dropped out of the rankings entirely.

The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.

For the complete poll, click HERE

Note: This blog contains spoilers.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from “Crazy Rich Asians.”

In case you haven’t read up on the hype, the movie is kind of a big deal as far as diverse representation goes (and a big deal, full stop, given how it smashed box office expectations on its opening weekend). It’s the first mainstream Hollywood feature film with an all-Asian cast in 25 years.

On Sunday, I went to my hometown of Markham, Ont. to watch it with my mom, you know, for the culture. Despite the hype, I didn’t really expect to love it as much as I did.

The experience of watching it was a bit surreal. I almost forgot the cast was all Asian. Rather than searching for the faintest glimmer of representation — the Asian sidekick, the nerd, or some other stereotype or trope — all of the main and supporting characters were Asians from different backgrounds. It was the first time in my life where I watched a movie and wasn’t searching for the token Asian character and how they may or may not be a trope or stereotype.

Although my mom definitely liked it too, and teared up about three or four times while watching, she essentially admitted she didn’t feel the same elated, warm, fuzzy fullness the movie left me with.

My mom and I are blood, but our experiences as youth resulted in our differences. I’m from Markham, Ont.— a city of 330,000 just north of Toronto with no racial majority, but a massive East Asian population. I grew up with many other Chinese classmates, but none who shared my particular heritage: Hakka Chinese, with parents who were born and raised in Jamaica, not China or Hong Kong. I was often told I was “not real Chinese” because I spoke English at home and didn’t speak Cantonese.

That rejection from my peers made me embarrassed by my culture, and I shunned cultural (read: delicious) foods and opportunities to learn more about my lineage. Until I was in my early twenties, I desperately want to be “Canadian.” Despite my family owning a Jamaican restaurant and maintaining deep ties to the Jamaican-Chinese community, I only sought out books, media and pop culture that was Western and overwhelmingly white.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve developed a greater appreciation for my heritage. Moving to Ottawa — a wonderful city, but far less diverse than my Toronto-area suburb — and being forced into the cultural isolation made me wish I knew more about myself, especially when I was asked to share with others.

The beautiful thing about “Crazy Rich Asians” is how well the movie illustrates the experiences of second-gens like me. For many second-gens, our lives are made up of blended ideas; the ones we choose to keep from our parents and those we accept from the country in which we are born and raised.

My mom, on the other hand, grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. While she was hardly one of a majority, Jamaica in the 1960s had a sizeable Chinese population, many of them Hakka. My mom, her brothers and their first cousins are only one generation removed from China and Hong Kong, where their parents are from. My mother understands Hakka Chinese, grew up eating the foods whose names I don’t know in English, and had (and still has) many Hakka friends.

My parents came to Canada as teenagers, and both have a lot of Western cultural references from their youth. My mom, for example, was a mullet-sporting punk in the 80s who listened to Billy Idol and went to regular showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show when she attended the University of Western Ontario.

But both my parents, whether by circumstance or choice, maintained stronger ties to their culture than I ever did. It was presumably less important to them to see themselves reflected on screen. They assimilated without losing their culture, which remained a pervasive force in their lives even after they immigrated.

The movie does have a lot of appeal for different generations, and I’d recommend seeing it with your mom too, if you can. Even though I’d argue it had more impact for me, the jokes and tear-jerking moments are commentaries on the family life we have together. And for those who don’t share the same experiences of making dumplings or playing mahjong, it’s a poignant, much-needed glimpse into aspects of a culture that are sometimes hard to describe.

Born And Raised is an ongoing series by HuffPost Canada that shares the experiences of second-generation Canadians. Part reflection, part storytelling, this series on the children of immigrants explores what it means to be born and raised in Canada. We want to hear your stories — join the conversation on Twitter at #BornandRaised or send us an email at [email protected].

I counted myself out of the real estate market for most of my life. Growing up, we lost our family home, twice — the first time to a lack of economic opportunity in rural Canada, and again, a decade later, amid the U.S. auto industry’s slow-motion crash.

So from the time of my parents’ early years as immigrants, to the rentals in between the two houses we lost, to the apartments my brothers and I shared in university, to my days as a young journalist in Toronto, I was a tenant. For many millennials in the GTA — fellow products of a brutal Recession — renting is becoming the norm.

When I moved out as an adult, I considered renting a fiscally responsible choice — not that my freelance income qualified me for a mortgage at the time — and appreciated the flexibility and lifestyle it afforded. There were fewer headaches, but you could never really shake the feeling you could be royally screwed over at the whim of your landlord.

Years later, my then-girlfriend (now wife) and I moved into a modest, budget-friendly condo we bought in Toronto, which we later sold to finance our move to Hamilton, Ont. It was only then that it hit me that I had missed out on some life lessons that people with a family home in their history may take for granted.

Case in point: home improvement skills.

Enter the renovation generation

Millennials have been dubbed the “renovation generation,” so-called because those of us who do have the option and inclination to buy a house are moving into the most affordable homes we can find — those of the older, grittier, original-wood-and-linoleum variety, not unlike my craftsman-style house, circa 1920.

Back in 2017, MoneySense reported we’re rapidly edging out boomers on renovation spending. One thing about contracted renovation costs, though: they can balloon very quickly. For homeowners who are strapped for cash — and who among our generation of homebuyers isn’t, when a mortgage can eat up a majority of income — taking on a do-it-yourself ethic is a must.

Alas, I had the ambition, but not the skills.

I feel like I missed out on learning opportunities. When we lived in a single-family home in the Detroit area, during the so-called “good times,” I was too young to have an interest in learning renovation skills from my handy father, who was an engineer by trade and had worked as a contractor in the past. By the time my formative years rolled around and I might have had more interest (or a longer attention span, at least), I didn’t need to know how to lay floor or install a light switch — just my landlord’s phone number. From then, we were in apartment after apartment.

That’s why I really looked up to anyone who had mastered this practical skill set — the people I see showing off the decks and fences they built for their homes on Instagram, or the neighbour who gave me a tour of his newly rebuilt shed, or the family member who tore his kitchen down to the studs for a top-down rebuild. Skills I see them pass onto their children, and I’d like to teach my own daughter one day. They didn’t have to rely on hiring someone else to make their house a home. They just had to roll up their sleeves, grab their power saw and get to work. Me? I got my first real toolbox as a gift on my 30th birthday. That was a year ago. (Rest easy, Ikea FIXA tool kit.)

There’s a first time for everything

Now faced with the million-and-one things that could go wrong in a full-sized house of my own, I can’t lie — I felt totally in over my head. I had to smarten up, fast.

It took a few weeks for the new-house honeymoon to come to an end, and for me to start seeing the ways our place was showing its age.

Our original-wood window and door casings, however handsome, had either developed gaps or started falling off entirely in some rooms. The backyard concealed buried bricks (and a skunk den!), and the front yard was a mess of deeply rooted perennials in place of a lawn. Our 30-year-old furnace chugged hot air straight out the uninsulated, unfinished attic. Oh, and is that asbestos tape? Clearly, I had my work cut out for me.

Always one to try something new (and Not Bitter At All about that one time my wife suggested I call my brother-in-law to change a lightbulb), I dove in with both feet to personally upgrade as much of our new place as I could. That meant learning as much as possible, and swallowing my pride when asking for advice.

Don’t put things off

Perhaps you hate painting, or you’re worried of failure like I was, but the hardest part of finishing a project is getting started in the first place. You’ll have to find something to get you over that hump. I had a nine-month deadline working in my favour to motivate me to start checking projects off my list, but whenever I noticed myself dragging my feet I’d think back to our previous home.

The first night in our condo was spent listening to the drip-drip-drip of the bathroom sink — and every night after that, until we “got around” to fixing the leak two years later. Now imagine the same problem spread across four times the square footage. Cringe.

The blessed silence that followed was an object lesson in fixing problems (or implementing improvements) as soon as they crop up. The sooner you start, the longer you’ll be able to enjoy the rewards of your labour.

Watch and learn

One balmy summer day last year I helped my brother-in-law lay sod in his backyard. It was a veritable family affair as we split the work up among a half-dozen volunteers, led by him and his horticulturalist buddy. I was charged with less pivotal tasks such as wheelbarrowing dirt and unrolling the grass, but by paying attention to the process and asking questions I learned the basics — strip, till, add topsoil, fertilize, sod, seed and water like hell.

I was able to put the knowledge to work when I installed grass in my front lawn, solo. After taking a few seasons to dig out the sprawling garden that had aggressively taken over our frontage (a neighbour affectionately called it “the jungle” — um, thanks, I guess?), I was the proud owner of a healthy green lawn, established just in time for fall.

Be patient

If you’ve moved into what you hope will be your forever home like I did, congratulations! You have years of non-stop renovations and repairs to look forward to. In fact, it never ends, I’m told. But your takeaway here should be that you have years to go. The best thing you can do for your budding skillset — and mental health, for that matter — is to slow down.

When I set out to repaint two bedrooms, I assumed it would take me a day each, tops, to bang out the work. Then I discovered the rooms needed more than a fresh coat of paint. There were cracks to be filled, doors uninstalled, surfaces sanded, edges taped, plaster patched, gaps caulked, walls primed, walls re-primed… you get the picture. Rather than brood over the rapidly expanding scope of the job, I spread the work out over a period of weeks rather than days to save me the mental anguish.

You should also create a schedule that works for you. I chose to handle the majority of interior projects this year, and hope I’ll have time for exterior jobs like repointing the brickwork next spring and summer. This helped me compartmentalize the work and set more specific goals. The longer timeline eased the pressure, giving me room to make mistakes, fix them, and learn how to do each step correctly.

I went to great lengths to get rid of a skunk in my backyard.

Oh, and you’ll make mistakes

Speaking of which, you can measure twice, cut once all you want, but that won’t prevent the dozens of mistakes and oversights that go into every successful final product. The best way to avoid errors is by spending more time planning — especially when you’ve never done something before.

Things like sketching out a flower bed plan or researching the right primer to go over oil-based lacquer reduce the time it takes to complete the job and ensure it’s done right the first time. When, not if, you make an error, the upshot is there’s always a fix. Don’t panic.

Admire your work

One of my final projects — for this year, anyway — was building the window casings for our newly finished attic. When I called my wife up to check them out, she was impressed with not only the final product, but how my skills had progressed. Similarly, I have a feeling my family has stopped seeing me only as a soft writerly type, and more a soft writerly type with excellent sanding and painting skills.

And I have to admit, I’m starting to see it, too. A year ago we would’ve hired out for all of the projects I tackled myself. I can walk to almost any corner of my house and confidently say that I had a hand in making it more beautiful and functional.

The loft space that we use as an office-media room, the nursery where my little girl will sleep, the lawn I’m hoping will become the envy of the neighbourhood — taking it in makes me happy I stepped out of my comfort zone. Still sporting paint-stained hands on a Monday morning is a small badge of honour. My wallet doesn’t hurt so much, either.

There’s still so much left to do, but finally I feel confident enough to take on some jobs currently out of my depth. Next up on my to-learn list? Handling my own electrical. Because there are only so many times you can call your brother-in-law over to change a lightbulb.

Have you been affected personally by this or another issue? Share your story on HuffPost Canada blogs. We feature the best of Canadian opinion and perspectives. Find out how to contribute here.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The final day of the 2014 NFCA Convention at Bally’s Las Vegas concluded on Saturday with the Coaching Staff of the Year Brunch, along with several speakers, roundtable discussions and the travel ball curriculum.

The day began with attorney Tracy Warren, who spoke about contracts during her “How to Protect Your Job” seminar. Following Warren, the Coaching Staff of the Year brunch recognized coaches from all memberships (regionally & nationally) and allowed all the National Coaching Staffs of the Year to speak in front and thank their peers.

Another popular portion of the morning was “Drills, Drills, Drills” where coaches shared their own drills on different parts of the game, which included head coach Mike Lambros of North Davidson (N.C.) High School (slapping), Cal State Fullerton head coach Kelly Ford and her staff (Team Competition Drill Series) and Kentucky associate head coach Kristine Himes (Offensive Drills).

Follow lunch, roundtable topics included West Texas A&M’s Kevin Blaskowski (Preparing Your Team For the Post-Season, Stanford’s Rachel Lawson (Systematizing for Excellence) and Darcy Brownell of Sierra College (Building Blocks to Team Chemistry).

The convention wrapped up with three speakers in the afternoon and the Travel Ball Curriculum. The afternoon presentations featured Rick Pauly, pitching coach at Georgia (Pitching Performance Measures), Tori Nyberg from Elevate Performance Counseling (Why and How to Teach the Mental Game as Part of Regular Preparation) and Orthopedic Surgeon (University of South Carolina) Dr. Chris Mazoue (Epidemic of Overuse Injuries of Softball).

The three-hour travel ball curriculum, featured a college head coaching panel featuring Tim Walton of Florida, Jen McIntyre of UConn, Larissa Anderson of Hofstra, Randy Simkins of Dixie State, Ketih Parr of Christopher Newport, Darci Brownell of Sierra College and Joe Yegge of Kirkwood Community College. It was followed by Texas Glory’s Kevin Shelton, Fury Fastpitch’s (Tenn.) Pat Moyer and Hanson, who presented “Measurements and Standards.”

This year’s convention was one of the most successful in the Organization’s history with approximately 1,450 attendees (record high) and 600 vendors (120 companies).

Artifact, Valve’s online trading card game, has received some considerable backlash from fans for its “pay for everything” payment model – and Valve has given an official response.

As reported by PC Gamer, fans have a bevy of complaints about the game’s payment model. Despite the base game with its initial set of cards costing $20, fans will have to pay $2 for every booster pack of cards. Fans can also win more cards by playing drafting modes using event tickets (which cost real-world money to purchase) or buy and sell specific cards in the marketplace, which Valve also profits off of.

The backlash to this got so bad that one of the most popular Artifact threads on Reddit urged fans not to buy the game to dissuade this sort of monetization.

Valve has responded to some of these complaints in a blog post yesterday before the game’s public beta went live. Issues pertaining to drafting were addressed, with Valve noting fans couldn’t draft with friends, or practice draft modes without spending an event ticket. Fans also noted that starter cards (which everyone begins the game with) would be next to useless on the marketplace, necessitating the purchase of booster packs anyway.

To somewhat remedy this, the next beta build will include a “Casual Phantom Draft gauntlet available in the Casual Play section,” though that appears to be more of a practice mode. Another complaint, that starter cards which everyone begins with would be included in booster packs and would therefore be next to useless on the marketplace, is being dealt with by allowing “extra, unwanted cards to be recycled into event tickets.”

For more on Artifact, check out our first look at game’s draft mode, and read about how Valve won’t force you to chat with your opponent in the game.

Artifact is set to be released on November 28 for PC, MacOS and Linux on Steam, and later in 2019 for iOS and Android devices.

Colin Stevens is a news writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

New U.K. research has found that sleeping longer than the recommended amount could be bad for your health. More than eight hours of shut-eye is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death, compared to sleeping less than seven hours.

Led by researchers from Keele University, along with colleagues at the University of Manchester, the University of Leeds and the University of East Anglia, the new analysis looked at 74 studies which investigated the link between sleep duration and sleep quality and the risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.

Together, the studies included 3,340,684 participants who self-reported their sleep duration.

The researchers found that participants who reported sleeping for more than eight hours a night had a greater mortality and cardiovascular risk than those who slept for less than seven hours.

A sleep duration of 10 hours a night was linked with a 30 per cent increased risk of dying compared to sleeping for seven hours, a 56 per cent increased risk of dying from a stroke and a 49 per cent increased risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.

In addition, poor-quality sleep was associated with a 44 per cent increase in coronary heart disease.

Lead researcher Dr. Chun Shing Kwok said, “Sleep affects everyone. The amount and quality of our sleep is complex. There are cultural, social, psychological, behavioural, pathophysiological and environmental influences on our sleep such as the need to care for children or family members, irregular working shift patterns, physical or mental illness, and the 24-hour availability of commodities in modern society.”

“This research began because we were interested to know if it was more harmful to sleep below or beyond the recommended sleep duration of seven to eight hours. We further wanted to know how incremental deviation from recommended sleep duration altered risk of mortality and cardiovascular risk.”

“Our study has an important public health impact in that it shows that excessive sleep is a marker of elevated cardiovascular risk.”

“Our findings have important implications as clinicians should have greater consideration for exploring sleep duration and quality during consultations. If excessive sleep patterns are found, particularly prolonged durations of eight hours or more, then clinicians should consider screening for adverse cardiovascular risk factors and obstructive sleep apnea, which is a serious sleep disorder that occurs when a person’s breathing is interrupted during sleep.”

The results were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.