New research finds that overwork can reshape your brain

Working hours not only make you feel mentally tired, but may actually be changing the body structure of your brain, according to new research published Tuesday in career and environmental medicine.

This preliminary study shows that healthcare workers who typically work 52 or more hours a week experience significant changes in the brain areas responsible for executive function and mood regulation compared to standard hours.

These findings add a neurological aspect to what we already know about the dangers of overwork. The ILO estimates that overwork kills 800,000 people each year through various health effects.

“The observed changes in brain volume may provide a biological basis for frequently reported cognitive and emotional challenges,” the researchers noted in the paper.

The research team, which drew data from the Gachon Regional Career Cohort study, used advanced brain imaging techniques to examine structural differences between workers over the hour and those who worked standard programs. The final analysis included 110 participants, mainly clinicians, working more than 32 hours and 78 standard hours per week.

Overworked brain adaptation – but at how much?

Using complex techniques including voxel-based morphometers and ATLAS-based analysis, the researchers identified differences in brains of overworked participants.

Perhaps most notably, the study found that among people who worked for a long time, the volume of the midfrontal gyrus increased by 19%. This brain area plays a crucial role in attention, working memory, and language processing, which is crucial for professional performance.

Other affected areas include the superior frontal gyrus involving planning and decision-making, and islands that integrate sensory information and process emotions.

Dr. Lee, the lead researcher of the Gachon Regional Career Cohort Research Team, compared these brain changes with muscle responses to stress. “Although the results should be interpreted with caution due to the exploratory nature of this pilot study, they represent a meaningful first step in understanding the relationship between overwork and brain health,” the team wrote.

Studies show that these changes may reflect “neuroadaptive responses to chronic occupational stress,” although researchers acknowledge that the exact mechanism remains speculative.

Calls to awaken workplace policy

This study emerges as workplace burnout increasingly involves the level of the industry as a whole. Although previous studies have documented the psychological and cardiovascular effects of overwork, this is the first to demonstrate potential structural brain changes.

The discovery raises important questions: Will these brains happen permanently? Do they reverse when working hours are normalized? Crucially, how do they affect long-term cognitive health?

The researchers themselves acknowledge the limitations. As a small observational study, a solid conclusion about causality cannot be drawn. It is not clear whether these structural changes are caused by overwork or may be preexisting triggers.

Despite these limitations, the researchers stressed their results “emphasize the importance of overwork as an occupational health concern and highlighted the need for workplace policies that reduce excessive working hours.”

For now, the study feels compelling biological evidence for many overworked professionals: chronic prolonged periods not only temporarily exhausting the brain—they may actually reshape it.