--- title: Working Overtime Linked to Increased Risks of Stroke, Heart Disease description: The reasons might be connected to stress, physical inactivity, and higher alcohol consumption canonical: https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/ author: Tanya Basu article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-19T23:01:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T10:17:58.449Z article:section: Health og:title: Long Work Hours Could Cause Serious Health Problems og:description: A new study finds working overtime increases the risk of stroke and heart disease og:url: https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf69645e11fd8f94a/698860262dce0133e19e52a9/overtime-work-increased-risk-stroke-heart-disease.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5625 og:image:height: 3164 og:image:alt: office worker in empty office og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Long Work Hours Could Cause Serious Health Problems twitter:description: A new study finds working overtime increases the risk of stroke and heart disease twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf69645e11fd8f94a/698860262dce0133e19e52a9/overtime-work-increased-risk-stroke-heart-disease.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Working Long Hours Could Increase Your Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 19, 2015 11:01 PM UTC  An office worker sits working in an empty office An office worker sits working in an empty office Dimitri Otis / Getty Images  by [Tanya Basu](https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/)  ## Tanya Basu Aug 19, 2015 11:01 PM UTC Burning the candle at both ends might impress your boss, but you could be sacrificing your health in the process. A study [published](http://press.thelancet.com/workinghours.pdf) in _The Lancet_ on Wednesday finds a strong connection between people who work 55 or more hours per week and cardiovascular disease. Those who work such long hours were found to have a 33% increased risk of stroke and 13% greater chance of developing coronary heart disease compared to people who work the standard 35- to 40-hour work week. Researchers from University College London reviewed 42 studies of hundreds of thousands of men and women from Europe, the U.S., and Australia for several years. Their results held even after controlling for demographic factors—age, sex, socioeconomic status—and health behaviors—like smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Working overtime in general, even if it’s not the 55 hour maximum the group studied, also affects health outcomes negatively. Working between 41 to 48 hours led to a 10% increased risk of stroke and upping work hours to between 49 and 54 hours a week caused a 27% increased risk of stroke. The authors aren’t sure exactly what the link is, but noted a few potential causes. For one, working long hours tends to be correlated with risky health behaviors, like drinking more alcohol or sitting for hours at a time. Those behaviors, combined with the stress associated with working overtime, could be a perfect recipe for a stroke or cardiovascular strain. _Read next:_ [_Want a Four-Day Workweek? Here’s How to Make it Happen_](http://time.com/money/4001732/four-day-work-week/?iid=time%5Freadnext) [_Download TIME’s mobile app for iOS to have your world explained wherever you go_](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/time-mobile/id328218429) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/"},"headline":"Working Long Hours Could Increase Your Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease","datePublished":"2015-08-19T23:01:08.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T10:17:58.449Z","description":"The reasons might be connected to stress, physical inactivity, and higher alcohol consumption","url":"https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/","keywords":["Heart Disease","Public Health","Stress"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf69645e11fd8f94a/698860262dce0133e19e52a9/overtime-work-increased-risk-stroke-heart-disease.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tanya Basu","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tanya-basu/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf69645e11fd8f94a/698860262dce0133e19e52a9/overtime-work-increased-risk-stroke-heart-disease.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"office worker in empty office","caption":"office worker in empty office","creditText":"Dimitri Otis / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/heart-disease/","name":"Heart Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4003902/working-long-hours-stroke-heart-disease/","name":"Working Long Hours Could Increase Your Risk of Stroke and Heart Disease"}}]}] ```