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Taking it easy might
save your life A recent report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine based on a joint study by a team from Guy’s Hospital, London, and a Japanese team from Kyushu University has pointed out that working over 60 hours a week and sleeping less than five hours, at least two nights a week, doubles the risk of heart attack and also leads to increased risk of high blood pressure and dysfunction of the heart. It is generally believed that hard work never harms anybody. But if it is stretched beyond the limits of endurance and is accompanied by stress, health consequences can be disastrous. Perhaps it is too early for us to advise our people to slow down. But in some segments of the society the results are already visible. Incidence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension and heart diseases in our country is one of the highest in the world. We need to look into both our work culture and lifestyle. Modern lifestyle A high-risk lifestyle was
associated with certain high-profile professions like medicine, law,
business and police. But the urbanisation and globalisation have brought
the middle-rung workers or even a blue collared workers in its fold.
Everybody seems to be on the run. There seems to be no time for
relaxation, or leisure. There are cars, two wheelers, elevators and
public transport. It is no more considered fashionable to walk even
short distances. The result is a lack of exercise substance abuse is
rampant. The content of sugar, salt and fat in diets has increased. The
spiral of professional and financial success leads to recognition and
fame, but if not handled properly the price is heavy. The result is
well-known and as mentioned earlier there is an increasing incidence of
so-called lifestyle diseases like obesity, diabetes, high blood
pressure, coronary artery disease, anxiety, stress and insomnia. |
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Individual traits also act as risk factors. Many years back Friedman and Rosenman described the type-A personality. For a long time type-A behaviour was considered as an important risk factor in heart disease, but this has not been proved conclusively yet. Yet there is no doubt that the traits of type-A behaviour make a man vulnerable to stress-related diseases. The basic traits are impatience, inability to relax, aggressiveness and cynicism. The result of such behaviour is an unusual hormonal and cardiovascular response to different situations, resulting in a rapid pulse rate and rise in blood pressure, thus exposing the cardiovascular system to physiological trauma. It is not clear whether the personality trait is genetic or acquired, but it can be changed by conscious effort. Invasion of technology Modern life is run and
controlled by technology. There is no doubt that science and technology
have improved the quality of life in every sphere. It has given us power
and extraordinary means of communication. It has taken us to the moon.
It has helped us increase food production and feed 6 billion people in
the world. But it is paradoxical that it has also made people more
vulnerable on many counts. Vehicles, mobile phones, fax, e-mail,
computers and Internet are stretching working time to 24 hours and
reducing sleeping hours. Mobile phones and laptops help people keep in
touch with their offices at all times. Technology is, therefore,
disrupting family life. Yet nobody likes to undo this advancement. We
need to use technology judiciously so that we are able to strike a
balance between work and leisure. |
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