WORKING LONG HOURS CAN ACTUALLY MAKE YOU SICK

January 15, 2006

Do you work overtime? The answer may determine whether you get sick this

cold and flu season. Millions of Americans work more than 60 hours a week

and according to a new study that makes them 61 percent more likely than

those who work regular 40-hour weeks to get sick.

“Stress itself can effect our immune system, it can definitely lower it and

make us more susceptible to infections,” says Jane Sadler, M.D., family

practice physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

And it’s not just the added stress that’s bad for you, it’s often what

you’re not doing because working so many hours compromises your health.

“So what’s happening is they go to bed exhausted, they don’t even have time

to exercise, and they’re sleeping six, seven hours a night at the most and

then they’re getting up and their routine is starting again, so there’s no

downtime,” says Dr. Sadler.

Around two-thirds of employees, according to the study data, say they choose

to work longer hours. The other third said overtime was compulsory. So keep

in mind that if you can’t work less you need to protect yourself better.

“Take some preventative precautions such as good hand washing and just being

careful when you come in contact with sick people because you are going to

be more susceptible to getting whatever they have,” adds Dr. Sadler.

Interestingly, researchers report that it doesn’t matter what kind of job

you’re working—whether it’s manual labor or desk work—those extra hours make

you more susceptible to illness.

For more information about Baylor Medical Center at Garland, call

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