According to a study published in the popular medical journal Lancet, an individual’s chances of having a stroke increases if he or she works beyond the traditional 9 to 5 schedule. The link although still uncertain, there are theories that talk about stressful jobs and their harmful impact on our lifestyle.
Experts believe that people who work for long hours must get their blood pressure checked at regular intervals.
The findings of the study revealed that people who work for 48 hours per week have 10% higher risk of having a stroke than those working for 35 to 40 hours per week. For people working for 54 hours and 55 hours per week, the risk increases by 27% and 33% respectively.
University College London’s Mika Kivimaki informed that in the 35 to 40-hour group, there were less than 5 strokes in every 1,000 employees per decade. The number of strokes per decade rose to 6 strokes in every 1,000 employees for people who worked for 55 hours or more than that.
Kivimaki admitted that the researchers are only in the initial stages of comprehending what exactly is responsible for increasing stroke risk in people working long hours. The ideas these experts are revolving around include sitting for several hours or additional stress of working for an extended period of time is not good for health and might increase one’s risk of suffering a stroke.
However, a stroke can also occur just as a marker of poor health for people who need to stay in the office for long hours and thus don’t get enough time for preparing healthy meals or exercising.
According to Kivimaki, people must put in additional effort to ensure that they have a healthy lifestyle and shouldn’t allow their blood pressure to increase.
Shamim Quadir of the Stroke Association, on the other hand, said that when someone works for long hours he or she usually needs to sit for a long period of time, which results in stress. According to Quadir, sitting for an extended period of time also means that there’s much less time for looking after yourself. Quadir also feels that undergoing blood pressure checks regularly is extremely important for people looking to cut down their stroke risk.
