So many of us just don’t feel a two-day weekend is long enough to recuperate and prepare for the work week ahead.
By the time we have a little fun or rest, clean our homes and run errands… it feels like the weekend is already over.
But researchers say that the short weekend could be affecting the cognitive abilities in workers over the age of 40.
The study was conducted by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.
The data was drawn the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey.
It used data from 3,000 men and 3,500 women aged 40 and over in Australia. The study found that workers aged over 40 perform better when they only work three days a week.
It found that working these hours kept the brain stimulated, as well as prevented exhaustion and stress.
So, it helped employees stay productive without burning out.
This type of information is likely significant to those countries looking to raise the retirement age, the BBC reports.
The latest of which is Russia who aims to raise the age of retirement for men to 65 from 60 and to 63 for women which is up from age 55.
Countries are doing this to cover budget deficits.
This is occurring in an age where two parents are required to support a household instead of one.
Many people across the world have also said goodbye to 40-hour work weeks for longer hours.
And at the same time, income equality grows to allow the rich to get richer and the poor get poorer.
Now lawmakers are looking to keep working people working even longer.
The study looked at people’s economic and subjective well-being, their family structures, and employment.
Participants were asked to read words out loud and recite a list of numbers backward as well as to match letters and number under time pressure.
People who worked 25 hours a week had the best scores.
Those who didn’t work at all scored at about 18 percent on the reading portion, 20 percent lower on the backward numbers test and 15 percent lower on matching the numbers and letters.
Those who worked 55 hours were worse off than those who worked parttime or not at all.
“Work can be a double-edged sword, in that it can stimulate brain activity, but at the same time, long working hours and certain types of tasks can cause fatigue and stress which potentially damage cognitive functions,” the report said.
They also found that there isn’t much difference in working 25 to 35 hours but once you get beyond 40 hours per weekend, there is a more rapid decline.
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