Professionals with disturbed sleep or experiencing sleep deprivation will experience physical, cognitive and emotional changes, in addition to a drop in immune function, said Dr. Marco Tulio de Mello of Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, who was not part of the new study.
“This is an exciting study because the follow-up is unusually long, 26 years,” said Dr. Mika Kivimaki at University College London in the U.K. who also was not part of the new study. “It also adds a new element to the research on long working hours as overwork in combination with short sleep captures a stressful lifestyle much better than long working hours alone.”
The effects of working life may persist into older ages and affect the quality of retirement, Dr. Kivimaki told Reuters Health by email.
“The results indicate that it is important to rest if working long hours,” and employers should promote healthy living habits which contribute to better sleep quality, Dr. von Bonsdorff said.
This article was provided by Reuters.