Why Science Says You Should Really (Really!) Work Less
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If you work upward of 55 hours on a regular week, you might want to cut back in the name of health (not to mention your sanity). New data analysis done by researchers at University College London found that folks who work 55 hours or more each week have significantly greater risks of stroke and heart disease than those who work the standard 35 to 40 hours a week, The New York Times reports.
Researchers looked at data from published and unpublished studies of over 600,000 individuals in the US, Europe and Australia, looking at incidences of stroke and heart disease. They controlled for activity that could cause a stroke or heart disease, like smoking and lack of physical activity, and found that, still, those who worked upward of 55 hours had a 33 percent greater risk of stroke and a 13 percent greater risk of coronary heart disease than those clocking around 40 hours. Yikes.
And what’s scarier is that Gallup surveys from 2013 to 2014 found that nearly 40 percent of American workers work at least 50 hours a week, so many of us are veering into dangerous territory when it comes to our work schedules. This got us wondering about how much the average Philadelphian works each week. So tell us, friends: How many hours do you work on a regular week?
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