Working More Than 52 Hours a Week? Your Brain Might Be Paying the Price

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Working long hours isn’t just exhausting — it may actually change the structure of your brain. A recent study of 110 Korean health care workers looked at how working more than 52 hours per week affected brain health. Investigators found that those who worked longer hours had changes in areas of the brain linked to decision-making, emotions and stress response.

Working long hours has been linked to many health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and mental health struggles such anxiety and depression. In fact, the International Labour Organization estimates that more than 800,000 people die each year due to working long hours.

While it is well known that being overworked can cause emotional and physical burnout, investigators emphasize that there hasn’t been much research on how it might physically affect the brain.

“Overwork with long working hours has emerged as a critical public health issue in modern societies, with significant implications for both individual well-being and societal productivity,” wrote the team of investigators.

The study, published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine, is one of the first to provide actual brain imaging evidence connecting overwork with neurological changes. The team used both data from the Gachon Regional Occupational Cohort Study (GROCS) — a large-scale, longitudinal study of occupational safety and health — and MRI information from a study on the effect of working conditions on brain structure.

Of the participants, 28% (32 people) were placed in the overworked group. Individuals in this group were significantly younger, more highly educated and had a lower duration of employment compared with those who were not overworked. However, most participants were under 45 years of age and, as the sample was comprised of health care workers, the general level of education was very high.

The findings provided the first clear brain imaging evidence showing that overwork is linked to actual changes in brain structure. People who worked 52 hours or more per week had increased brain volume in regions tied to thinking, emotional control and stress processing, including the middle frontal gyrus, the insula and the superior temporal gyrus — both areas involved in managing thoughts, emotions and behavior. These changes could be the brain’s way of adapting to chronic stress, but they may also affect emotional and cognitive well-being over time.

Investigators said that the research adds to growing concern about the health impacts of excessive work. It shows that overwork isn’t just a psychological issue — it may physically change your brain. The findings point to the need for more studies to understand whether these changes lead to problems like memory loss, poor focus or mental health disorders.

While this study offers important insights into how overwork may affect the brain, it’s important to know its limits. This was a small pilot study involving a sample of health care workers in Korea. That means the results might not apply to everyone — especially people in different jobs, countries or cultures. Additionally, the study grouped people into only two categories: those working more or less than 52 hours per week. While practical, this doesn’t show whether brain changes get worse with even longer hours or improve with shorter ones. Lastly, other factors, such as diet, exercise, alcohol use, sleep and stress levels were not accounted for and could influence brain changes as well.

“The results underscore the importance of addressing overwork as an occupational health concern and highlight the need for workplace policies that mitigate excessive working hours,” investigators concluded.