Do you work overtime? The answer may determine whether you get sick this cold and flu season. Millions of Americans work more than 60 hours a week and according to a new study that makes them 61 percent more likely than those who work regular 40-hour weeks to get sick.

“Stress itself can effect our immune system, it can definitely lower it and make us more susceptible to infections,” says Jane Sadler, M.D., family practice physician on the medical staff at Baylor Medical Center at Garland.

And it’s not just the added stress that’s bad for you, it’s often what you’re not doing because working so many hours compromises your health.

“So what’s happening is they go to bed exhausted, they don’t even have time to exercise, and they’re sleeping six, seven hours a night at the most and then they’re getting up and their routine is starting again, so there’s no downtime,” says Dr. Sadler.

Around two-thirds of employees, according to the study data, say they choose to work longer hours. The other third said overtime was compulsory. So keep in mind that if you can’t work less you need to protect yourself better.

“Take some preventative precautions such as good hand washing and just being careful when you come in contact with sick people because you are going to be more susceptible to getting whatever they have,” adds Dr. Sadler.

Interestingly, researchers report that it doesn’t matter what kind of job you’re working-whether it’s manual labor or desk work-those extra hours make you more susceptible to illness.

Baylor Medical Center at Garland
http://www.BaylorHealth.com