Long working hours are common worldwide. Indians, Koreans and Chinese, especially those in medical profession and the IT industry, are famed for their for ability to put in endlessly long hours. It is often said that young Indian doctors hardly sleep during their residency days. My IT friends tell me that many employees work 18 hours a day and at odd hours in their organisations.
Much as parents, teachers and employers would hate to hear it, there is indeed growing evidence that overwork is associated with significant health problems as well as poorer outcomes.
Long working hours have been found to be associated with cardiovascular and immunologic reactions, reduced sleep duration, unhealthy lifestyle and adverse health outcomes, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, subjective health complaints, fatigue, and depression.
Overwork in midlife could be a risk factor for declining cognitive function and dementia later on.
In an interesting study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers studied 2000 British civil servants with cognitive tests at two time points: in 1999 and after 5 years. They noted at the end of 5 years that those who had put in more than 55 hours a week performed poorly on vocabulary, reasoning, emotional state, sleep and health risk behaviour than their counterparts who had worked only 40 hours!
Intuitive logic seems to suggest that preserving good functions of the body and brain requires their optimal use. Too little could cause them to rust, but overuse could lead to early fatigue as well.
Indeed many who suffer from dementia seem to have been rather too active and vibrant for most parts of their lives. Some of the names of people who impressed us with untiring work and wit spanning long careers are of prime minister Margaret Thatcher, president Roland Reagan, and union leader and minister Mr George Fernandes.
Another way of looking at this issue is to see which countries and peoples are the happiest in the world and how much work they do. Denmark ranks number 1 in the Happiness Index among 147 countries that WHO lists, and interestingly also has the lowest average working hours of 37 hours a week. As the average work time of nations increases, happiness index seems to fall.
For a few months now, I have been wondering why I am getting forgetful of names and dates and why my once accommodating nature of trying to please all is metamorphosing to a snappy irritable one.
I realise that since becoming a doctor, I have spent far too much time of approximately 60 to 90 hours a week in clinics and conferences, have digressed from the trails of reading fiction, music, holidaying and chatting with relatives and friends.
Take this as a timely reminder for course correction in mid-life.
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