Chronic stress at work can make you sick

More than 10 000 people employed in 20 London civil service departments (aged 35-55) were followed up for 14 years in a prospective study published in BMJ.

According to the authors, "a dose-response relation was found between exposure to work stressors over 14 years and risk of the metabolic syndrome. Employees with chronic work stress were more than twice as likely to have the syndrome.

The study provides evidence for the biological plausibility of the link between psychosocial stressors from everyday life and heart disease."

How the CEOs Work and Relax

Bill Gross, Chief Investment Officer, Pimco: "After about 45 minutes of riding the exercise bike and maybe ten or 15 minutes of yoga, all of a sudden some significant light bulbs seem to turn on. I look at that hour and a half as the most valuable time of the day." Source: CNN Money.

According to a study reviewed by Science Blog, daily brisk exercise reportedly decreases the risk of pemature death by 70%. The study found that “highly fit” men had half the risk of death compared to “low fit” men. For every 1-MET increase in exercise capacity, the risk for death from all causes was 13% lower.

References:
Chronic stress at work and the metabolic syndrome: prospective study. BMJ 2006;332:521-525 (4 March)
Secrets of greatness: How I work. CNN Money/Furtune.
Image source: openclipart.org, public domain.

Related:
Work stress and coronary heart disease: what are the mechanisms? European Heart Journal, doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehm584, 01/2008.

Updated: 01/29/2008