Study: Working more than 40 hours a week can increase risk of stroke, heart attack

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last updated 21 August 2015

A new study published in the journal The Lancet might make you think twice about putting in overtime: Researchers say that working more than 40 hours a week can lead to an increased risk of strokes and heart attacks.

Teams from University College London and Umeå University in Sweden studied 603,838 people, and found that those who worked between 41 and 48 hours a week had a 10 percent higher risk of stroke, and those who toiled away for 49 to 54 hours had a 27 percent increased risk of stroke, ABC News reports. Even after controlling for behavioral risks like smoking and drinking alcohol, researchers found that there was a 33 percent increased risk of stroke for workers who put in more than 55 hours a week at the office.

Cortisol, a hormone linked to stress, can cause increased inflammation in the body and narrow arterial walls and blood vessels. To combat office stress, experts recommend standing while on the phone, meditating, and going for quick walks. Employers also need to do their part to make sure the office is a tension-free zone. "It's not so much the hours," Dr. Roy Buchinsky, who was not involved in the study, told ABC News. "It's how we are spending our time during those hours. People are being asked to do more with less resources."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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