May 16, 2025 12:00:00

People who work long hours may experience changes in the neural structure of their brains

In recent years,

work-life balance, which balances work and private life, has become important in a wide range of occupations, but there are still environments and times when people have no choice but to work long hours. A new study conducted by a Korean research team has shown that the neural structure of the brain of people who work long hours may change.

Overwork and changes in brain structure: a pilot study | Occupational & Environmental Medicine
https://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2025/05/08/oemed-2025-110057

Too Much Work Could Be Literally Reshaping Your Brain : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/too-much-work-could-be-literally-reshaping-your-brain

South Korea has been pointed out as having one of the poorest work-life balances among developed countries, and long working hours have become a problem. The government has drawn criticism by announcing a plan to further raise the upper limit of working hours, which is already set at 52 hours per week, to 69 hours per week in 2023 for those who work six days a week.

'While the behavioral and psychological effects of overwork are well known, little is known about its direct effects on brain structure,' a research team from Yonsei University , Chung-Ang University and Pusan National University in South Korea wrote in their paper. 'Previous research has suggested that chronic stress and inadequate recovery may alter brain morphology, but empirical neuroimaging evidence is still limited.'

The researchers conducted brain scans and a study of work habits on 110 participants, mostly health care workers, of whom 32 worked 'excessive hours' (more than 52 hours a week), while the remaining 78 worked standard hours.

The results showed that participants who worked excessive hours had

more grey matter in brain regions related to the ability to plan, organize and execute tasks, working memory and emotion management compared to participants who worked standard hours.

Specifically, the volume of the middle frontal gyrus, which is involved in cognitive function, was reported to be 19% larger in subjects who worked long hours compared to those who did not.

The effect of having more gray matter can be positive or negative. The research team did not draw firm conclusions in their paper, and further research is needed to determine the effect of increased gray matter due to long working hours.

But because several studies have linked overwork to brain damage, the science media Science Alert points out that the changes in the brain's neural structure revealed in this study are probably bad news.

'These findings suggest that long working hours may induce neuroadaptive changes that may affect cognitive and emotional health,' the research team wrote in their paper. 'Future studies should explore the long-term implications of these structural brain changes and whether they lead to cognitive decline or psychiatric disorders. Our results highlight the importance of treating overwork as an occupational health concern and underscore the need for workplace design to mitigate overwork.'