Does Your Busyness Affect Your Health?

What part of your body works overtime when you constantly work overtime?
Your eyes
Your sweat glands
Your adrenal glands
What part of your body works overtime when you constantly work overtime?
Sudden stress, like the kind you have after narrowly avoiding a fender bender, triggers a part of your brain called the hypothalamus. It sends signals that tell your adrenal glands to flood your body with cortisol and epinephrine. Those hormones rev your body up for “fight or flight.” Low-level, constant stress keeps your body pumping out those hormones in a steady stream. So you stay on high alert, even if you’re not in physical danger.

If you have an unhealthy addiction to work, you’re also more likely to have:
Mental health problems
Lupus
Gout
If you have an unhealthy addiction to work, you’re also more likely to have:
There’s a strong link between workaholics and things like ADHD, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety, and depression. It’s likely that having these disorders makes you prone to working too much. You may use work to avoid depression, or you may work more because your ADHD, OCD, or anxiety won’t let you stop. Likewise, stress can affect your mental well-being and lead to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

If stress hormones hang out in your body for a long time, they can:
Use up your body’s fat stores
Damage your blood vessels
Increase your concentration
If stress hormones hang out in your body for a long time, they can:
Chronic stress may raise your chances for heart attacks and strokes by raising plaque buildup that clogs your arteries. You’re also more likely to have high blood pressure. You might think stress would sharpen your senses. It actually dulls them over time. It’s also no weight-loss plan: High cortisol levels make your body hang on to fat. That can lead to extra pounds.

If you’re not leaving time in your schedule for exercise, you’re at a higher risk of:
Cancer
Heart disease
Both
If you’re not leaving time in your schedule for exercise, you’re at a higher risk of:
Exercise is one of the best ways to prevent disease. If you’re glued to an office chair (or seat of a vehicle) all day, and you’re not offsetting that stillness with some muscle movement, you’re really raising your chance of some kind of health problem, whether it’s heart-related, cancer-related, or something else entirely.

You’re more likely to get sick when you’re putting in long hours on the job.
True
False
You’re more likely to get sick when you’re putting in long hours on the job.
Burning your candle at both ends can wear you down, but it also weakens your immune system. The result? You’re less protected from germs that come your way. The older you get, the more prone you are to stress-related immune changes, too.

The best definition of a workaholic is someone who:
Works a lot of hours
Works a lot of hours because they love what they do
Works a lot of hours because they’re driven by an uncontrollable urge to do so
The best definition of a workaholic is someone who:
There’s a difference between being drawn to your work and being controlled by it. Workaholism can be like an addiction. When you’re a workaholic, you have a hard time keeping a good quality of life because of your obsession with work. Your job often doesn’t satisfy you. You also may not be productive, even though you’re putting in extra hours.

You’re more likely to be a workaholic if you’re:
In a manager position
Over 40
Not self-employed
You’re more likely to be a workaholic if you’re:
Studies say the things that can make you a workaholic include:
- Being in charge of other employees
- Working for yourself
- Being a younger adult
Workaholism is also more likely to affect you if you have a higher education.

Chronic stress can affect you in the bathroom by giving you:
Diarrhea
Constipation
Either
Chronic stress can affect you in the bathroom by giving you:
Being swamped and stressed all the time can do a number on your digestive system. It makes a difference in how quickly (or slowly) things move through your system. That means you can either be stopped up or sprinting for the bathroom. Stress can also keep your body from taking in the nutrients you need from the food you eat.

The headaches you get from a hectic schedule are typically caused by:
Thinking too much
Low blood sugar
Tense muscles
The headaches you get from a hectic schedule are typically caused by:
The stress that comes with keeping your nose to the grindstone tenses up your muscles, which can bring all kinds of side effects. You might grind your teeth, have sore shoulders, or deal with a stiff neck. You’re likely to get headaches from all this muscle tightness. It may even trigger migraines.

Women who work more than 60 hours a week _______ their risk of cancer, diabetes, heart problems, and other conditions.
Lower
Double
Triple
Women who work more than 60 hours a week _______ their risk of cancer, diabetes, heart problems, and other conditions.
Studies show women who carry a big workload often do so on top of many tasks at home. So their health risks tend to run higher than men’s. Women are three times as likely to get cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions if they work 60-plus hours most weeks. Those odds start going up once you pass 40 hours. They jump again after you pass 50 hours a week.

Burnout is caused by:
High blood sugar
Constant stress over time
Obesity
Burnout is caused by:
Burnout is real, and it happens when stress piles up to a level you can’t deal with anymore. Long hours of work and a calendar that's too full can cause it. You may be headed to burnout if you:
- Feel tired all the time
- Spend most of your day doing tasks that feel overwhelming or boring
- Feel underappreciated
- Think most days are bad days

Overworking tires you out, which helps you sleep.
True
False
Overworking tires you out, which helps you sleep.
There may be a link between sleep problems and workaholism. Even though your work pace may make you feel sleepy when you should be awake, you’re more likely to have problems falling asleep or getting good-quality sleep once you do.

Which of these, taken regularly, improves your work performance, mood, and health?
Vacation days
Lunch breaks
Both
Which of these, taken regularly, improves your work performance, mood, and health?
Taking breaks from work, whether it’s short stints during your workday or days and weeks away from the office, can boost your well-being. The benefits are especially high if you spend that time doing physical activity, learning something new, or practicing relaxation so your body can fully recover from the stress at work.

Stress causes stomach ulcers.
True
False
Stress causes stomach ulcers.
You aren’t likely to get an ulcer because of a busy, stressful schedule. But if you have an ulcer, it may get worse. Most ulcers are caused by a germ called H. pylori .

Staying stressed can hurt your chances of having children.
True
False
Staying stressed can hurt your chances of having children.
Stress hormones can mess with your reproductive system. In men, it can curb sperm production and lower testosterone levels. Women can have irregular cycles and less sexual desire when their bodies are swamped with stress.