The daily 9 to 5 routine is pretty exhausting and gets more challenging both physically and mentally we grow old. It can completely drain you And more so in the absence of a daily habit of exercise. After reaching the age of 40, one should restrict to just three working days as research shows long working hours can lead to reduced cognitive functions. For those over 40 years, working for more than 25 hours is detrimental to health. After attaining 40 years of age, working for 50 to 60 hours can really damage your health. But our needs and responsibilities make us push our limits and we care little about our own physical conditions. But what more can we do except toiling everyday? Working for 40 or more hours can get boring Researcher studiesworldwide say that our cognitive capabilities start reducing with age. In 40s they are not the same as in twenties or thirties. Study conducted at Melbourne institute of applied economic and social research noted the no of working hours put in by individuals and later tested the performance reports of psychological tests that they went through. The tests included levels of short term memory, focus and concentration. The studies proved that working 3 days after 40 was a beneficial idea. 25 hour work week is perfect for older people. 25 hours of work per week is ideal for sound psychological performance. Anything beyond it impacts the psychological test scores in a negative manner particularly for our memory, thought process and attention. This was the result of limits of increasing retirement age. People working for 60 hours or more were found to have impaired cognitive functioning. So taking time out for yourself is important. Working skills showed improvement in older people working for 25 hours per week GeraintJohnes, economics professor from Lancaster university disagreed with the results the reason being only age groups of 40 and above were included. There is quite a chance that the younger age group can be equally affected by long working hours. Apart from this, it’s a beneficial result for the elderly. Working for 3 days over 40, this age group showed improved cognitive function and better working skills with reduced no of hours. Source