Working overtime can cause changes in brain structure.

Scientists warn that working overtime can lead to changes in brain structure, affecting memory, thinking and mental health.

Many businesses want their employees to always be available online and ready to respond after hours, leading to pressure to complete work even after working hours - Photo: AI

Working too many hours a week, an increasingly common condition in modern society, not only causes physical fatigue but can also cause profound changes in the brain, according to an international study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine .

Scientists from Yonsei University (South Korea) analyzed data from a long-term health study, combining magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess the brain structure of 110 medical workers, including 32 who regularly worked 52 hours or more per week.

Results showed that the overtime group had significant changes in brain regions related to executive function and emotional regulation , regions that play a key role in concentration, memory, decision-making and social behavior.

Notably, the left middle frontal gyrus, an area in the frontal lobe that plays a role in short-term memory, attention, and language processing, increased in volume by 19% in the overworked group compared with the standard work group.

In addition, other regions involved in planning, decision-making, emotional processing, and social cognition also showed unusual changes.

Those who were overworked showed significant changes in brain regions responsible for executive cognition and emotional regulation. The results provide initial neuroscientific evidence that sustained long work hours can lead to changes in brain structure that negatively impact cognitive functions such as memory, concentration and decision-making, as well as affect workers’ mental health.

The team of scientists called for further long-term studies to assess the long-term effects of overwork on brain structure and function, as well as the ability of neural recovery when working hours are adjusted to a reasonable level.

They also stressed that this discovery is a serious warning bell about occupational health issues in the context of a "non-stop work" culture that is becoming increasingly popular and tacitly accepted in many industries.

"Pandemic" of overtime work

“Global analysis from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that excessive working hours are on the rise and account for around a third of all work-related illnesses worldwide,” said Ruth Wilkinson , head of policy and public affairs at the International Organisation for Safety and Health (IOSH).

Part of the reason comes from the implicit expectations in modern corporate culture, including wanting employees to always be available online, ready to respond after hours, or pressure to complete work after hours.

From the above findings, experts call on businesses to be more transparent in the way they organize work, and integrate psychological and social risk factors into occupational safety assessments.

“We need to act quickly to control the ‘overwork’ pandemic before it becomes a silent cause of serious problems for mental health, productivity and quality of life,” Ms. Wilkinson emphasized.

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MINH HAI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/lam-viec-qua-gio-co-the-gay-bien-doi-cau-truc-nao-20250514125550512.htm