If you're the type who work beyond the usual 9-5 or bring work home, watch out! You could potentially be facing heart disease.

Workaholics who frequently put in overtime raise the risk of heart disease by up to 80 percent according to a new study.

Scientists believed you are more likely to suffer heart attacks and strokes.

The combination of stress, raised blood pressure and unhealthy diets from working the long hours are putting thousands of people at risk of premature heart problems.

The latest finding discovered by the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health was based on a recent meta-analysis which took into account the results of various studies over the last 50 years. Data were gathered from 12 different studies dating as far back as 1958, and involved 22,000 participants from Britain, the USA, Japan, Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The team noted that the risks varied depending on how each study was carried out.

But the effects were more pronounced when participants were asked to recall their working hours.

Compared to those who worked the normal hours, employees that spent more than eight hours have a 40 to 80 percent greater chance of heart disease.

Lead researcher, Dr. Marianna Virtanen believed this could be due to 'prolonged exposure to stress'.

While other factors could be poor eating habits and lack of exercise because of the age-old reasoning – lack of time.

The latest finding was published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

In 2009, Dr. Vitanen and her team had also discovered that long working hours increased the risk of dementia later in life.

The effect was akin to that of smoking. Middle-aged worker clocking in 55 hours or more a week had poorer brain function in comparison to those who worked no more than 40 hours. The former scored lower on tests to measure intelligence, short-term memory and word recall.

The situation in Nigeria

The working culture in Nigeria is such that we generally work more than the required eight hours daily. In fact a third of Nigerians spend over 11 hours at the office. Not only that nearly 50 percent of us tend to bring our work home more than three times a week.

What this means is that Nigeriacould be looking at serious health and economic problems in the long run.

The long-term toll on worker's health could be devastating and not to mention, overall productivity would soon be compromised.

If Nigerians were to contribute to the country's economy, we need to find a balance between work and good living.

Right now, it would seem that we don't have a choice but to work the extra hours to meet deadlines, career advancement, cost of living and of course, earn more money. However, bear in mind that healthy living is far better in the long run and everyone should at least try to practice a work-life balance.

After all if you don't have your health, you will not be going very far, in work and in life. Food for thought.
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