Don’t Chill And You Might Get ill
For many people, working long hours at work, double or even extra shifts are a recurring part of everyday life. Not only does it take time away from important recuperation and relaxation, now a major new study published in acclaimed scientific journal The Lancet reveals that those who work a lot, more than 55 hours a week, are at higher risk of suffering from stroke. Every year, a mindblowing 15 million people worldwide suffer from stroke, which means that the blood supply to the brain is blocked or a blood vessel in the brain bursts. Globally, stroke is the second leading cause of death above the age of 60 years, and the fifth leading cause of death in people aged 15 to 59 years old. It’s those in the latter age span that are mainly concerned with the study’s result. It shows that those who worked more than 55 hours a week had a 33 percent higher risk of suffering a stroke than those who had a more normal working week of 35 to 40 hours.
The researchers also found that the more you work over 40 hours/week, the greater the risk, with the possible explanation that people who have long working hours also tend to have much stress in their lives.
Why do we share this discouraging information?
Well, it’s important to ponder and reflect on our lives and what impact different situations might have in the long term. Having balance in life doesn’t just make it more wonderful to live - it's actually vital for real!
What can you do differently today?
In situations of stress, where overtime looms on the horizon, it may be helpful to ask a number of questions when planning the "have to's" of the day:
Why should it be done? Is it of paramount importance that it must be done, and above all, right now?
Who should do it? Does it necessarily have to be you?
How should it be done? Is there a better way to do it?
Learn more about how you can create balance in life by:
Assess your balance between different areas of your life today with our life assessment (download our app from here).
Ask yourself if you have the right balance between different roles in your everyday life (as a parent, sibling, colleague, boss, friend, citizen etc.).
Make changes for an improved balance in life, by setting goals reflecting how you want your life to be - it could also be done through our app ;-)