What is “death from overwork”
The term “death from overwork” belongs to an imported product. It originated from the Japanese economic boom in the 1960s and 1970s. It was called “karoshi” by the Japanese. It was officially included in the “Oxford English Dictionary” in 2002. The English interpretation is “death from overwork”. .
Japan’s most representative figure in the study of overwork and death, Kamihata Tetsunojo, proposed in his book “Death overwork” that the definition of “death overwork” is not merely a medical or statistical concept, but belongs to Social medicine category. Death from overwork is usually considered to be due to the accumulation of fatigue caused by long-term overload of work, and ultimately induce the sudden onset of underlying diseases and death. In law, death from overwork also has a recognized definition: death from overwork refers to the employer’s violation of the “Labor Law”, forcing workers to undertake excessive heavy work, infringing their right to rest, or violating the “Labor Law”. Labor safety and health regulations, resulting in the death of workers.
Who is more common in “death from overwork”
Among the underlying diseases that cause death due to overwork, the acute attack of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases is the most common.
According to investigations and studies, the five diseases that directly contribute to “death from overwork” are: coronary artery disease, aortic aneurysm, valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, and cerebral hemorrhage. The latest research report from the World Health Organization shows that long hours of work caused 745,000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29% increase from 2000. A Japanese study of 203 patients who died of cardiovascular disease found that more than two-thirds of them had worked extremely long hours.
In other words, people with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are more likely to die from overwork than ordinary people. More and more studies have shown that fatigue is not only a predisposing factor, it may directly affect neuroendocrine functions, leading to hypertension, coronary heart disease, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, depression and other diseases. Excessive overtime is the primary cause of death from overwork. The main population of “death from overwork” has shifted from manual workers to mental workers, and is becoming younger. A study of 92 cases of “death from overwork” showed that the average age of the victims of overwork was 44 years old, and none of the IT, medical, media, science and education industries were spared. Among them, the age of the IT class was the lowest. Only 37.9 years old.
Red flags of “death from overwork”
It should be pointed out that only one-third of the sudden death victims were confirmed to be at high risk of sudden death during their lifetime, and the remaining two-thirds of sudden death patients had no symptoms or only mild abnormalities during their lifetime.
Ten danger signs of death from overwork
● “Beer belly” appeared earlier.
●Hair loss, alopecia areata, and premature alopecia.
●Memory loss, began to forget the names of acquaintances.
● Frequent headaches, chest tightness, tinnitus, dizziness, heart palpitations, and no results in the examination.
●Go to the bathroom frequently.
●Attention is getting harder and harder to concentrate.
● Decreased libido and sexual performance.
●Mental calculation ability is getting worse and worse.
●The quality of sleep is not high (insomnia, multiple dreams, waking up from sleep, etc.).
● Irritable, irritable, pessimistic, difficult to control their emotions.
”Yellow light” warning period: if there are 2 items, attention is needed;
”red light” forecast period: if there are 3 to 6 items, there are signs of death from overwork;
dangerous period: if there are more than 6 items, overwork has occurred The probability of death will greatly increase.
Compared with case reports of “death from overwork”, fatigue has become the norm in a busy life. According to research statistics, more than 95% of people who die prematurely between the ages of 30 and 50 die from fatal diseases caused by fatigue. Generally speaking, for ordinary fatigue, a sleep can often restore energy. But if the fatigue cannot be relieved through normal rest, then you need to judge whether you have chronic fatigue syndrome. “Death from overwork” mostly develops from chronic fatigue syndrome.
What is chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic fatigue syndrome is a newly recognized disease in modern medicine, officially named by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1988. This is a syndrome dominated by non-specific manifestations such as fatigue, low-grade fever (or conscious fever), sore throat, myalgia, arthralgia, headache, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, sleep disturbance, and depression. The symptoms persist Or recurrent episodes for at least half a year.
There are three criteria for how to judge whether you are chronic fatigue syndrome:
First, continuous or recurring severe fatigue of unknown cause, for more than 6 months, fatigue symptoms can not be relieved after full rest, and the level of activity is higher than that under healthy conditions. Reduce by more than 50%;
second, have the following 4 (or more than 4) symptoms at the same time:
● Memory decline or difficulty concentrating.
●Laryngitis.
●The lymph nodes in the neck or armpits are tender.
●Myalgia.
●Multiple non-arthritis joint pain.
● New headaches.
●Sleep disorders.
●Continuous discomfort after fatigue.
Third, exclude chronic fatigue caused by other diseases or bad habits.
If you find that you meet the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, you should seek medical help immediately.
How to tell if you are tired
Fatigue is a symptom that is difficult to define and describe, especially for the subjective perception of fatigue, which has not yet formed a unified evaluation index.
In order to find a better method for epidemiological and symptomatic research on fatigue, researchers have successively developed a variety of fatigue assessment scales in recent years. At present, a comprehensive examination of multiple scales such as the fatigue rating scale (FS-14), the health status questionnaire (SF-36), and the psychological judgment scale (SCL90) is commonly used as the evaluation method of chronic fatigue syndrome. The above scales must be carried out with the assistance of professionals.
In daily life, how do we judge whether we are in a state of fatigue? You can use the following evaluation scale to measure your fatigue value.
●I don’t want to get up in the morning, even if I barely get up, I feel tired.
●Difficulty concentrating at work or reading.
●Weak speech.
●Reluctant to communicate with colleagues, and often remain silent after returning home.
●Always stretch, yawn, and sleepy eyes.
●Too lazy to climb upstairs and often trips up when going upstairs.
●I don’t want to rush to catch up when the bus comes.
● Like to lie on the sofa, it is comfortable to raise your legs.
●The limbs are stiff, the legs are heavy, and the hands are easy to tremble.
● Poor appetite.
●Heart palpitations and chest tightness, there is a kind of uncomfortable taste that is indescribable.
● Frequent abdominal distension, diarrhea or constipation.
●Forgetfulness, the more things in front of you, the easier it is to forget.
●It is difficult to fall asleep or wake up early, and dream constantly after falling asleep.
Mild fatigue: 2 to 3 items; moderate fatigue: 3 to 4 items; severe fatigue: 5 items and above.
How to stay away from chronic fatigue syndrome
The Director-General of the World Health Organization Tan Desai said: “No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease.” Staying away from chronic fatigue syndrome requires the government, employers and employees to work together to reach an agreement on the concept of protecting the health of employees. . Faced with the possibility of “death from overwork” and the actual existing “chronic fatigue syndrome”, we must first make timely adjustments to our personal lives. In this regard, General Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital and Health Promotion Center Director Chen Liying chief physician gives the following suggestions:
● healthy diet
to control total calories, with eight full meal for the degree, reduce the intake of animal fats and sweets, Eat more fish, soy products, vegetables and fruits. Eat regularly, and pay special attention. Breakfast must be eaten on time, with plenty of water, and avoid excessive caffeine or strong tea after dinner.
● reasonable daily routine manner
to minimize the nightlife, sleep 7 to 8 hours a day, need more sleep moderate; reasonable arrangements for work and study, to adjust the pace of life, avoid prolonged intense work.
● Regular exercise and workout
according to World Health Organization recommendation, moderate-intensity exercise per week should be 150 to 300 minutes, or 75 to 150 minutes of high-intensity exercise, to offset the harm caused by sedentary. Effective sports include brisk walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, etc.
● maintain a good attitude
to do something you enjoy, culture hobby, contentment, and properly retain the “innocence”; learn to talk, talk to others allows you to get rid of negative emotions, in the face of enormous pressure, to a negative emotions Export, you can get back to good condition as soon as possible.
● timely medical treatment
with health problems need to consult a doctor immediately, without delay; regular physical examination, early detection of disease clues, disease prevention in the first place; to understand health knowledge, improve health literacy.
