Working Overtime Bad For The Brain?

New research from The Journal of American Epidemiology says that long hours on the job are weakening your mental abilities and could put you at risk for developing dementia.

Neurologist Caroline Brockington stopped by the Early Show to discuss the new study with co-anchor Julie Chen.

"It really looked at a group of people who work greater than 55 hours. And looking at their cognitive functioning, how well they were able to reason and do their job. And it seems that they had declined in their cognitive abilities," Brockington said.

According to Brockington, the people tested in the study had problems with memory, problems with functioning appropriately and problems with reading and comprehension.

"But help me define 'work.' Because could this same study apply to someone who, a man or a woman, who stays at home taking care of the kids and the home and all that?" Chen asked.

"Certainly. I think it could be translated into anybody who works. It just depends on what are the things that result from working hard? Meaning you don't sleep well, right? You probably don't exercise well. You don't eat well. And all those things result in a decline in your memory or short-term memory," Brockington said.

"So what is it about overworking our brains that makes us not be able to remember things, challenges our ability to reason?" Chen asked.

"The brain needs the appropriate rest. It can't be working 24 hours a day. So if you look at it as a computer, it can't continue to take in all the stimuli without rest. So again, when people work a long time and they don't rest or they don't have enough sleep, they don't have enough exercise, they don't eat well, all those things influence how the brain functions," Brockington explained.

"What are the signs that my brain is overworked?" Chen asked.

"That you can't remember things, that your vocabulary gets lost, that you have problems with concentration. You have problems with sort of multitasking. You have difficulty doing those things," Brockington said.

"So if you have these signs, what do you do?" Chen asked.

"Well, you need to get some rest. It's really balance, right? Finding the right balance between work and doing the things that you know are right in terms of a healthy lifestyle. Again, getting enough rest, getting exercise, eating right, those types of things are important," Brockington said.

It sounds like the study is really about getting enough sleep. Is that it?" Chen asked.

"Well, it's getting enough sleep and getting sleep on a routine basis. Meaning a lot of people sleep at different times. But really if you can find your own routine and stick to it, it's probably the best way to improve your memory over time," Brockington said.

"Is there anything we can do to our brain to let it rest while we're at work?" Chen asked.

"Well, there's probably a few things. Number one, if you really overload it -- to get out of that stimulus, to get out of that environment. So instead of the phone ringing and you're answering questions, etc., if you can just get yourself out of that moment and go to a quiet place," Brockington said.

She also suggested power napping, which consists of 20 or 30 minutes of just napping.

"It's really going to allow your brain to rest and sort of reboot, so to speak, so that you're more alert. You can concentrate better. Those type of things," Brockington said.

"And what are the long-term effects? If we don't take care of this now, what's going to happen down the road?" Chen asked.

"They speculate in the study maybe that it would increase somebody's risk of dementia, which is really long-term memory problems," Brockington said.

"I'm going to take a power nap," Chen said.