Men who work long hours are twice as likely to go bald.
A new study has revealed that those who work longer than 52 hours a week are twice as likely to lose their hair. It is suggested that the stress caused by long hours causes a change in hormone levels in certain areas of the body.
Scientists are now urging lawmakers to limit the number of hours people can be employed to prevent this from happening. Researchers from South Korea examined 13,391 employed men aged 20 to 59, between 2013 and 2017.
Three groups were identified as ‘normal’, who worked a 40-hour week, ‘long’ as up to 52 hours, and ‘much longer’ as any time above that. Age, marital status, education, monthly household income, smoking, and work schedule were also considered.
The results weren’t exactly shocking. The study found that people who were in the much longer grouping — i.e. those working more than 52 hours a week — had nearly a 4% increase in alopecia. Specifically, twenty and thirty-somethings had twice the alopecia development rate as someone in the same age range working less than 40 hours a week, according to the study.
So what’s the reason behind possible hair loss? With longer hours and more concentrated focus on work, the main culprit for hair loss is… stress.
“We can cautiously assume that the relationship between long working hours and the development of alopecia is likely to be mediated by job-related stress,” researchers said.
That revelation bodes poorly for American men, as 66% will experience some type of hair loss by age 35, according to the American Hair Loss Association. Combine that with being overworked, no one will have hair.
