IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i11p6715-d828649.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Long Working Hours Indirectly Affect Psychosomatic Stress Responses via Complete Mediation by Irregular Mealtimes and Shortened Sleep Duration: A Cross-Sectional Study

Author

Listed:
  • Tenshi Watanabe

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan
    Department of Anesthesiology, Ebara Hospital, 4-5-19 Higashi-Yukigaya, Otaku 145-0065, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Jiro Masuya

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Shogo Hashimoto

    (Department of Psychiatry, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita 10, Nishi 7, Kitaku, Sapporo 060-0808, Hokkaido, Japan)

  • Mina Honyashiki

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Miki Ono

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Yu Tamada

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan
    Department of Psychiatry, Toranomon Hospital Kajigaya, 1-3-1 Kajigaya, Kawasaki 213-8587, Kanagawa, Japan)

  • Yota Fujimura

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan
    Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center, 1163 Tatemachi, Hachiojishi 193-0998, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Takeshi Inoue

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan)

  • Akiyoshi Shimura

    (Department of Psychiatry, Tokyo Medical University, 6-7-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjukuku 160-0023, Tokyo, Japan)

Abstract

Background: Long working hours are detrimental to physical and mental health. However, the association between long working hours and psychosomatic symptoms have remained controversial, possibly because of the existence of mediators between working hours and psychosomatic stress responses. We hypothesized that lifestyle habits, regarding sleep and mealtimes, act as mediators, and analyzed the associations between long working hours, sleep duration, mealtime regularity, and psychosomatic stress responses in office workers. Methods: From April 2017 to March 2018, an online cross-sectional survey regarding overtime work hours, work-related stress, sleep, and eating habits was conducted with employees of 17 companies located in Tokyo, Japan. Answers were obtained from 3559 employees, and 3100 provided written consent for the academic use of their answers, and were included in the analysis. A path analysis was conducted to assess the effect of overtime work on psychosomatic stress via shortened sleep or irregular mealtimes. Results: Overtime work hours had no direct effect on psychosomatic stress responses and depressive symptoms. However, overtime work hours affected sleep duration and the regularity of mealtimes. The effects of overtime work hours on psychosomatic stress responses and depressive symptoms were completely mediated by sleep duration and the regularity of mealtimes. Conclusion: Long working hours do not affect mental health directly; however, shortened sleep duration and irregular mealtimes mediate the effect of long working hours on psychosomatic stress responses and depressive symptoms.

Suggested Citation

  • Tenshi Watanabe & Jiro Masuya & Shogo Hashimoto & Mina Honyashiki & Miki Ono & Yu Tamada & Yota Fujimura & Takeshi Inoue & Akiyoshi Shimura, 2022. "Long Working Hours Indirectly Affect Psychosomatic Stress Responses via Complete Mediation by Irregular Mealtimes and Shortened Sleep Duration: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-8, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6715-:d:828649
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6715/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/11/6715/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Virtanen, Marianna & Jokela, Markus & Madsen, Ida E.H. & Magnusson Hanson, Linda L. & Lallukka, Tea & Nyberg, Solja T. & Alfredsson, Lars & Batty, G. David & Bjorner, Jakob B. & Borritz, Marianne & Bu, 2018. "Long working hours and depressive symptoms: systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies and unpublished individual participant data," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, issue 3, pages 239-250.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Takaki Tanifuji & Kentaro Mouri & Yasuji Yamamoto & Shinsuke Aoyama, 2023. "Psychological Distress among University Staff before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-11, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sato, Kaori & Kuroda, Sachiko & Owan, Hideo, 2020. "Mental health effects of long work hours, night and weekend work, and short rest periods," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).
    2. Kamerāde, Daiga & Wang, Senhu & Burchell, Brendan & Balderson, Sarah Ursula & Coutts, Adam, 2019. "A shorter working week for everyone: How much paid work is needed for mental health and well-being?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    3. SATO Kaori & KURODA Sachiko & OWAN Hideo, 2024. "Personality Traits as Moderators of the Effects of Working Hours on Mental Health," Discussion papers 24048, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    4. Adovich S Rivera & Maxwell Akanbi & Linda C O’Dwyer & Megan McHugh, 2020. "Shift work and long work hours and their association with chronic health conditions: A systematic review of systematic reviews with meta-analyses," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(4), pages 1-19, April.
    5. Yesung Lee & Eunhye Seo & Woncheol Lee, 2022. "Long Working Hours and the Risk of Glucose Intolerance: A Cohort Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-11, September.
    6. Ella Arensman & Cliodhna O’Connor & Caleb Leduc & Eve Griffin & Grace Cully & Doireann Ní Dhálaigh & Carolyn Holland & Chantal Van Audenhove & Evelien Coppens & Fotini Tsantila & Victoria Ross & Birgi, 2022. "Mental Health Promotion and Intervention in Occupational Settings: Protocol for a Pilot Study of the MENTUPP Intervention," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-21, January.
    7. Terhi Ravaska, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 6, Finnish Centre of Excellence in Tax Systems Research.
    8. Ayako Hino & Akiomi Inoue & Kosuke Mafune & Mayumi Tsuji & Seiichiro Tateishi & Akira Ogami & Tomohisa Nagata & Keiji Muramatsu & Yoshihisa Fujino & on behalf of The CORoNaWork Project, 2022. "Association between Long Working Hours and Psychological Distress: The Effect Modification by Request to Stay Home When Sick in the Workplace during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-10, March.
    9. Ravaska, Terhi, 2023. "Do reduced working hours for older workers have health consequences and prolong work careers?," Working Papers 153, VATT Institute for Economic Research.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:11:p:6715-:d:828649. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.