Working long hours not only puts a lot of pressure on mental health but on physical health as well. According to research conducted by French scientists released in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke, people who worked long hours have a higher risk of suffering a stroke, especially if they work long hours for 10 years or more.

Scientists studied a total of 143,592 participants between the ages 18 and 69 for almost 10 years. Cardiovascular risk factors and previous stroke occurrences were noted from separate medical interviews. During the study 29 percent of the participants (42,542) reported working long hours; 10 percent (14,481) reported working long hours for over 10 years. At the end of the study it was observed that 1,224 of the participants, suffered strokes and participants working long hours had a 29 percent greater risk of suffering from a stroke, and those working long hours for 10 years or more had a 45 percent greater risk.

"The association between 10 years of long work hours and strokes seemed stronger for people under the age of 50," said study author Alexis Descatha, a researcher at the Paris Hospital, Versailles and Angers University and at the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm). "This was unexpected. Further research is needed to explore this finding.