Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 1: If you're working long hours hoping for that promotion or better paycheck, here’s something to pause and reflect on — it could be altering your brain. A recent study published in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine has raised serious concerns, indicating that extended work hours might be reshaping your brain and affecting emotional and cognitive functions.

The research shows that individuals clocking over 52 hours per week experience changes in the structure of the brain — especially in regions linked to emotional regulation, memory, attention, and decision-making. Using MRI scans and data from the Gachon Regional Occupational Cohort Study (GROCS), researchers compared the brains of overworked individuals with those maintaining standard working hours.

The findings are striking: people working longer hours showed increased brain volume in as many as 17 areas, including the middle frontal gyrus and superior frontal gyrus, which are critical for planning, problem-solving, and emotional control. One region — the middle frontal gyrus — was found to be 19% larger in overworked individuals.

Interestingly, the overworked group, mostly clinicians, were significantly younger, less experienced, but more highly educated. Experts say this may point to early-career professionals facing higher mental demands under chronic stress.

The study also revealed alterations in the insula, a part of the brain responsible for emotional processing and self-awareness. These changes, scientists say, could be neuroadaptive responses — the brain’s way of coping with continuous occupational stress.

While the researchers urge caution in interpreting the data due to the study’s exploratory nature, they assert that it provides a critical first step in understanding how overwork physically impacts the brain.

“Overwork isn't just a lifestyle issue — it’s a public health concern,” the researchers noted, calling for workplace reforms and stricter policies to limit excessive work hours.

The study adds to a growing body of evidence linking long work hours to cardiovascular diseases, mental health disorders, and even premature death, with the ILO estimating over 800,000 deaths annually due to overwork.

As discussions around work-life balance grow louder, this new research underscores the urgent need to prioritize mental and neurological health at the workplace — before it’s too late.