No matter how healthy you are, working long hours might be bad for you

Staying at work for long periods of time is really bad for your health.

Serious health risks such as stroke, heart attack, and more are common among over workers.

In fact, a current study shows that people who commonly put in 55+ hours of work a week had a 33 percent greater risk of stroke and a 13 percent greater risk of heart disease when compared to their 35 to 40 hour workweek counterparts.

One of the interesting aspects of the study is that long weeks were shown to have affected all workers the same, regardless of gender, social class, and age.

No matter who you are, how healthy you are, or how good you handle long hours, the simple fact is that it will adversely affect you.

Speaking on the results of the study, Mika Kivimaki, the lead author of the study and a professor of epidemiology at University College London stated, “It was surprising. Previously, we found that long working hours was associated with diabetes, but only among those with low socioeconomic status. In contrast, the association with stroke was seen in all groups.”

For her research Kivimaki examined results/data from over 35 studies that took data from 600,000+ people across the US, Europe, and Australia.

Another medical professional, Dr. Stephen Kopecky, a professor at the Mayo Clinic, had this to say on the issue: “You have higher blood pressure when you have job strain, and guess what that’s associated with? Stroke.”

It should be noted that the observational nature of the study did not provide sufficient evidence of cause and effect. Despite this shortcoming, the valuable information Dr. Kivimaki has provided will no doubt lead to more investigation and innovation toward the hours we work, and what effect it has on us.

Needless to say, for those who do work long hours, it is important to keep tabs on your blood pressure and lead a physically active and healthy life.