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A recent study published by the Institute of Labour in Melbourne, Australia showed that people over 40 should not work more than 3 days a week.
The study included 3500 men and women, whose work habits researchers examined and how they affect their cognitive functions. The first part of the tests focused on measuring brain functions such as memory, logical reasoning and abstract thinking.
The second part then focused on testing their knowledge.
What the scientists found
Scientists concluded that brain performance was highest in study participants when they worked roughly 25 hours per week. That roughly corresponds to 3 days with an 8-hour workday.
When working 45 hours a week, participants’ performance decreased, because by then the effects of stress and fatigue set in.
According to one of the three authors of the study, Colin McKenzie, a professor at Keio University, the level of intellectual stimulation that work provides depends precisely on the number of hours worked.
Work thus becomes a double-edged sword.
At first it stimulates brain activity, but after exceeding a certain threshold stress and fatigue occur. This then has a directly damaging effect on cognitive functions.
How working hours affect people in middle and older age
In addition to the influence already mentioned on the brain, the number of hours worked also affects maintaining mental freshness in middle-aged and older people.
As McKenzie states, working 40 hours a week, which is the classic work schedule, has a better effect on the brain than no work at all, but it does not achieve the maximal effect of work on mental stimulation.
The effect of hours worked on brain functions will likely differ between countries.
After all, the brain is also influenced by other factors, such as the type of work (manual versus mental), the intensity of its effect on the brain, post-work activities and so on.
Conclusion
To sum it up — full-time work for people over 40 has a negative effect on them and their brain functions. It is better than not working at all, but significantly worse than the ideal 25 hours per week.
