Insomnia, Stroke & More: Doctors on What Working 70-Hour Weeks Does to Your Body

Doctors tell us what overworking can do to our body and why it's healthier to maintain work-life balance.

Image used for representation.

(Photo: FIT)

Are you team work 70 hours a week? Or are you the flag bearer of fighting for (non-existent) work-life balance?

Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy recently had the internet and various generations divided about the hours of work an individual must put in every week.

Murthy was recording for a podcast, The Record, with former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai when he said:

“India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world (...) My request is that our youngsters must say, ‘This is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week'."

Narayana Murthy

Whether you agree with Murthy or not, working 70 hours a week can have serious implications on your health. 

FIT reached out to four doctors – a pulmonologist, a cardiologist, a neurologist, and a psychiatrist – to understand what happens to our body when we are overworked.

Breathlessness & Insomnia: How Overworking Can Affect You

Dr Sameer Gupta, Senior Interventional Cardiologist, Metro Hospital, Noida, says that there is a reason that the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) have set guidelines for work hours per week.

Estimates published by the WHO and ILO in 2021 said that people who work over 55 hours a week have a 35 percent increased risk of suffering from a stroke and a 17 percent increased risk of dying from a heart condition.

Not just that, between 2000-2016, there was a 42 percent increase in deaths from heart conditions and a 19 percent increase in deaths from stroke in people who worked longer hours.

Citing these numbers, Dr Gupta says that this can happen because when you work longer hours, you are more prone to have irregular blood sugar levels and blood pressure.

He tells FIT, "Your dysregulated eating and sleeping habits can give way to diabetes or other comorbidities which can ultimately lead to cardiovascular diseases."

Dr Kuldeep Kumar Grover, Head of Critical care and Pulmonology, CK Birla Hospital, Gurugram agrees. He says that overworking can cause a “wear and tear” reaction in one’s body.

“If you don’t work out, exercise, or have a sedentary lifestyle because of your work hours, it will impact your musculoskeletal system. You’ll be tired easily. You’ll become more prone to viral infections and respiratory infections. If you’re overworked, it can cause anxiety and lead to tachycardia and this can precipitate respiratory issues like breathlessness.”

Dr Kuldeep Kumar Grover

ICYMI, It Also Impacts Your Brain…

Dr Kedar Tilwe, Consultant Psychiatrist, Fortis Hospital Mulund & Hiranandani Hospital, Vashi, explains that overworking can not just upset your physiological rhythms but can cause mental health issues too.

“Overworking does not increase efficiency. It, in fact, disturbs work-life balance which can cause precipitation of anxiety, depression, stress, and then burnout. And if your sleep cycle is disturbed, it can also cause excessive substance issue problems.”

Dr Kedar Tilwe

And yet again, it’s not just mental health that can be harmed.

Dr Sudhir Kumar, Neurologist, Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, shares that if you face any of the above-mentioned issues, you are at a significantly increased risk for brain stroke. The WHO estimates too had shared the same information.

Why Does This Happen?

Dr Kumar explains that people who are overworked often miss meals or quality sleep which can push them towards diabetes, hypertension, or metabolic conditions like obesity.

Physical inactivity due to long working hours only accelerates their health decline. 

“With all this, the risk for stroke increases, which can cause paralysis or even be fatal.”

Dr Sudhir Kumar

However, Dr Tilwe also points out that the effects of overworking differ from not only person to person but also profession to profession.

What could be considered overworking for one profession (like the IT sector, for instance) wouldn't necessarily be considered the same for another profession (like for airline pilots or doctors), he says.

"Every person’s ability to cope with stress is also different. In specific cases, the type and amount of stress can determine how your body reacts to it."

Dr Kedar Tilwe

So What Does One Do?

It’s easier said than done but setting boundaries at work is one way to start taking care of your health, especially when there is scientific evidence of how overworking impacts your body.

A 2019 study, titled The Effect of Long Working Hours and Overtime on Occupational Health, estimated that working over 61 hours each week can result in high systolic blood pressure. Neck pain, back pain, stress, fatigue, etc, are all byproducts of overworking too.

And truth be told, overworking does not help anyone – not even your boss or your company. A 2019 Stanford University study showed that if you’re working over 55 hours a week, your productivity keeps declining with each hour.

So, the healthier option then is to, well, focus on your health.

• Try maintaining a schedule for work and sticking to it.

• Exercise, have a proper diet, and get ample rest.

• Set boundaries for work-life balance.

The bottom line is, work-life balance is important for not just your mental health but for your physical well-being too, points Dr Kumar.

"Corporate programs that support work/life balance promote productivity, reduce turnover, and improve employees’ mental and physical health."

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