Photo credit: Seb Ruiz
This article by Helen Alexander in MSN.com brings to light the somewhat frightening effects that our jobs are having on our health. Suggestions of how to combat some of them are intertwined into the article. It might be worth having a go!
How Your Job Is Slowly Killing You
Long hours and tight deadlines — you might think it’s simply part of modern office life, but do you ever stop and ask yourself how your job is affecting your body? High stress levels and sitting for extended periods of time can have a serious impact on your health. We uncover the dangers you need to know, and what you can do to improve your workplace wellbeing.
Deadline dangers
Your boss has heaped on extra responsibilities. You are asked to make a last-minute presentation. One way or another, the nine-to-five workday can often run into your personal time, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. But beyond simply being tired, dealing with high levels of stress for long periods of time can increase the risk of suffering a serious health episode.
Research published by the European Heart Journal revealed people who work 11 hours or more every day have 60 percent greater risk of heart attack, angina and death from cardiovascular disease than those who work seven or eight hours.
“Stress has been linked to a wide range of health issues, including mood, sleep and appetite problems, and research confirms that it also plays a role in causation of heart attacks,” says Mary Barry, chief executive of the National Heart Foundation.
Barry goes on to point out that while we know stress isn’t the sole cause of heart disease, it can trigger a heart attack in people already at risk, which is why it is so important to focus on spending quality time away from the workplace.
“Make sure you have a healthy work-life balance. This can be difficult, but small changes can make a difference,” says Barry, who recommends learning to politely say no once in a while, keeping calm with relaxation exercises, such as slowly counting your breaths on a cycle up to five, and allocating time to do the things you enjoy, such as reading or listening to music.
