Workers who clock more than 55 hours a week have inferior brain function to those who put in the typical 40.Researchers tested 2,214 middle-aged British civil servants on a battery of mental skills, and found the ones who burn the midnight oil posted significantly lower scores on reasoning and vocabulary.
The study's authors warn that long hours may be as bad for the brain as smoking, and that the level of cognitive impairment they uncovered in workaholics is clearly linked to dementia later in life.
Perhaps another way to interpret the study is that folks with already compromised brain function take longer to do their jobs. Of course, bosses may already be aware of that.
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Comments:
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Friday 27 February
By Carl
There should be an award for the social science researchers who most spectacularly fail to understand the difference between causation and correlation. These guys are early front-runners.
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Saturday 28 February
By marshall
I think that the article is partially right.
I am interested to know how the author did the
research on this discovery. It does make some
sense that we can suffer burn out and stress.
Reply
Saturday 28 February
By Bill
This was a survey of "British Civil Servants," so naturally their brain function is below average at all times. Longer hours simply puts them futher into REM state, (sleep or stupor) thus the report's asinine conclusions. Thomas Edison was famous for his short sleep periods and long hours of effort. Because it was his passion, not simply a job, his brain activity grew exponentially. So, get passionate about your job, or find another career.
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Sunday 01 March
By Dave
You dont need a scientist to tell you that. The more hours you work the more tired you are. When ever most people are tired there pretty slow in thinking and in everything else. Its all natural and its logic
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Sunday 01 March
By old enough to remember
Doesn't this study fly in the face of previous studies about dementia? The previous studies suggested that you need to use your brain more; for some people, that means working more. I knew someone who was working full-time at age 95. His reasoning was that it kept his brain young.
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Sunday 01 March
By UFOdc
I personally would like to know who comes up with these "mindless" assertions. Working hard would therefor lead to Alzhimers disease is essentially what you are saying? Erosion of the brain because you worked to hard? Wouldn't it be better to say some people not all would have this affect?
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Sunday 01 March
By kroem10714
Isn't there like work , work and work ?
Isn't there like boring , repetative work and then problem solving and cognative work ?
Hard work and sedate work ?
Mindless work and challenging work ?
Or do some people consider even mindless work a challenge ?
Kirk
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