Mental fatigue – risk factor for noncommunicable diseases

Abstract

Introduction Mental fatigue, called the disease of our century, occurs as a result of chronic stress, cognitive overload, and lack of adequate recovery. Over a longer period of time, it becomes a major risk factor for non-communicable diseases. It can be caused by: the intensity and duration of physical and intellectual work; environmental factors (temperature, noise, and lighting); psychological factors (responsibilities, worries, and conflicts); monotony or routine work; diseases and pains, nutritional conditions. Forms of fatigue manifestation are: decreased attention; slowing down and inhibition of perception; inhibition of thinking capacity; decreased efficiency of physical and intellectual activity. In modern society, mental fatigue is increasingly observed among students and working-age populations due to accelerated lifestyles, prolonged screen exposure. Persistent fatigue may negatively influence emotional well-being, productivity, sleep quality, and overall quality of life, emphasizing the importance of early preventive measures and healthy lifestyle practices. Aim of the study Identifying factors that favor the appearance of fatigue in workers in the field of information technologies and assessing its level from a subjective point of view. Preventing this condition and trying to minimize it. Material and methods Direct observation method, questionnaire method, statistical and comparative method. The questionnaire included 22 items. The selection of people for this research was done through simple random selection. A total of 74 people were surveyed. Each person answered 22 questions, each answer being evaluated with points from 0 to 5. Results Of the 74 people participating in the study, 50 people (67.6%) were 20-29 years old, 14 people (18.9%) in the 30- 39-year-old category, 5 people (6.75%) 40-49 years old and 5 people (6.75%) in the 50-year-old and older category. By gender, there are 22 more women, which represent 30%. After analyzing the results, we highlighted: 20 people (27%) accumulated between 20-49 points (this means that they are starting to feel some signs of fatigue); 52 people (70%) scored between 50-79 points (which already indicates a moderate level of overwork); 2 people (3%) had a score of 80-100 points (which indicates that the overwork is fully manifested and they need a specialist), the most frequently affected age group is 20-29 years old. Conclusion Practically all people involved in the study showed some signs and symptoms of fatigue; the most affected age group is 20-29 years old, the younger generation is increasingly vulnerable, we identified problems related to the action of fatigue on the body, namely: depressive states, concentration and memory disorders, exhaustion, headache, tachycardia, palpitations; we studied the problem of these people in detail and came up with a series of measures that could improve the situation.