Working long hours can kill you – increasing risk of stroke by 50%, experts warn

PEOPLE who work long hours are almost a third more likely to suffer a stroke, a study suggests.

Those who grafted more than ten hours a day for at least 50 days a year had a 29 per cent higher risk.

And if they worked long hours for more than ten years this rose to 45 per cent.

Researchers from Paris Hospital say people should “work more efficiently” so they can cut hours.

Their warning comes after they analysed health and work data on 143,592 people aged 18 to 69.

Some 29.6 per cent worked long hours and 10.1 per cent had done so for more than a decade.

Medical records revealed 1,224 had suffered a stroke, with higher hours linked to a higher risk.

Women and the under-50s most at risk

Women, under-50s and those in professional, managerial or admin jobs were affected most.

Brits are among the hardest working in Europe in terms of the hours put in.

We spend an average of 1,681 hours a year at the coalface, compared with Germans’ 1,356 hours.

But our dedication to getting the job done also means our work-life balance is among the poorest in Europe.

Almost 13 per cent of Brits work more than 50 hours a week on average, compared with barely half a per cent of the Dutch and one per cent of Swedes.

Those of us in full-time employment work an average of 37 hours and 24 minutes a week.

And that's stopping us from having the time to exercise or cook healthy meals.