It was 9 a.m. on Tuesday the first time Mary noticed the headaches. She chugged down a few cups of coffee and got to work because she had a lengthy report.
Her shoulders began to tense as the headaches persisted. She had a throbbing head and was hunched over her desk.
Fast Company has more to say.
Mary is a friend of mine. She shared how she had been impatient with her co-workers, snapping at them occasionally, and that she had been getting headaches all day.
Mary had learned to ignore her physical pain in order to be productive. She was working 60-hour work weeks with constant deadlines and thought that she only needed to learn how to manage her time.
Many of us are guilty of this now. Keeping on top of your busy schedule isn't the only way to do it.
How overwork leads to the breaking down of your body and mind
There are two major ways that overwork can reduce health and longevity. Those logging long hours may be sleeping little, barely exercising, eating healthy foods, and smoking and drinking to cope.
A new study by the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization found that people who work more than 54 hours per week are more likely to die from heart disease and stroke.
Overwork causes death by slowly accumulating over years.
Signs your body is warning you of burnout
We often dismiss brain fog, high blood pressure, fatigue, and headaches as sirens. Mary had learned to ignore her own physical pain, and there are often signals that tell us we're taking on more than we can handle. Adam Borland, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, says that an excessive load is like a car trying to run with a very limited amount of gas in the tank. We are expecting ourselves to perform on a high level but in reality our reserves are tapped out.
What should we be looking for to prevent overwork?
According to experts, instead of looking at individual symptoms, we should look at our overall well-being. Some of the biggest red flags of an unbalanced work-life balance are listed by the Cleveland Clinic.
- You’ve stopped taking care of yourself
- Your sleep is out of whack
- You’re skipping meals or not eating enough
- You’re not getting in enough exercise to balance out stress
- You’re turning to substances like drugs or alcohol when overwhelmed
- You’re neglecting important relationships and missing out on crucial social time
Why you should listen to your body
I have long advocated for work/life balance. I don't believe in answering emails on weekends or late into the night. Taking time off to do nothing is just as important as the hours we clock in. We need downtime to listen to and learn from our bodies. When you're running on all cylinders, you'll keep pushing ahead even if you have physical symptoms.
In our society, it is very common for people to push through fatigue. Getting things done is what most people think is more important.
I told my friend that he had to take breaks throughout the day. Don't just manage your calendar; you have to listen to what your body is saying.
Restoring and refreshing yourself
The authors of the Harvard Business Review story propose that we can learn to adjust overwork patterns by engaging differently with our bodies. Body scans and yoga can help us become more aware of our bodily experiences. We tune out physical discomfort when we are caught up in work stress. When we do a body Scan, we are looking at ourselves from head to toe, noticing sensations and ailments.
We can check back in with ourselves by taking a walk in nature. The act of slowing down and getting in touch with yourself is likely to pay off more than attending to the next item on your queue.
Aytekin Tank is the founder of Jotform.
