Why Vacations Are Good For Your Health?

If one feels overloaded with work or think that their work-life balance is out of gear, then one of the reasons could be that they had skipped out on their favorite vacation plans. There are many who feel not left out here as any workaholic would realize this feeling of missing out of something very important from their workplace as there are many health benefits of taking a vacation. Research points out that more and more people are becoming workaholics nowadays who work more than anyone in today’s industrialized world and will also take less vacation, work long-drawn days and retire later. Modern work scenarios namely, workforce cutbacks and poor staffing make it challenging for people doing the jobs to get away with leaves. For this reason, people are even afraid to take vacations in today’s “layoff era” for the fear that they may appear less committed than their coworkers. Numerous studies have reported that taking time off from the job can have physical and psychological benefits of vacation. People who take vacations have lower stress, limited risk of heart disease, a healthier outlook on life, and more motivation to accomplish goals. Vacations remind us to reset and remind ourselves that career is not the be-all and end-all and that there are other facets to our healthy existence besides work.

Importance Of Taking A Vacation

Researchers have found that vacation is also valuable for one’s mental health and well-being. That mental break doesn’t just feel good; it even benefits businesses. If one still needs a little convincing, here is a list of some extra mental and physical health benefits of taking a vacation and improve the quality of their health, physically and mentally:

Improved Physical Health

Stress can add to heart disease and high blood pressure. For both men and women, the New York Times stated that taking a vacation every two years as opposed to every six will decrease the hazard of coronary heart diseases or heart attacks which is increasingly becoming prevalent among today’s youth workforce.

Enhanced Mental Health

Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain structure is modified by chronic vulnerability to the stress hormone cortisol, which can be a main supporting factor to anxiety and depression. Feelings of calm flow from time away from work and reduce stress, which leaves the body and mind to recover in ways that it couldn’t if it were still under pressure owing to busy work schedules.

Excellent Well-Being

According to some studies, people who can “always make time for regular trips” fare better on the well-being index than in comparison to those who are less regular travellers. One study observed that three days after vacation, the subjects’ quality of sleep, physical complaints, and attitude had improved as opposed to before vacation. These gains were, however, present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacation.

Increased Mental Power

Upon returning from vacation, workers are found productively focused. Studies have noticed that chronic stress can actually modulate a part of the brain that inhibits goal-directed activity and can cause problems with memory. Ergo, time off can tune up a well-functioning brain.

Improved Familial Relationships

Giving time to loved ones while enjoying life with them can keep relationships strong. A study found that women who took vacations were more happy with their marriages than who were not.

Decreased Burnout

Workers who take natural time to unwind are less inclined to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts.

Planning Alone Boosts Happiness

Research shows the greatest boost in happiness arises from thinking about and planning the vacation. A person can sense the effects up to eight weeks before the trip! The centerpiece here is taking time away from the regular pressures of work and daily life which can increase our health, motivation, connections, job performance, and attitude and give us the much deserving break we need to return to our lives and jobs renewed and better equipped to manage whatever that life throws our way.

10 Reasons Why Vacations Matter?

Vacations aren’t just a chance to escape reality. Studies reveal that they are necessary for a healthy mind, body, and spirit. But it need not have to be a rich Mediterranean getaway. A vacation can be as easy as a “staycation” in one’s hometown or nearby city or a great weekend at a local lake. The heart of a vacation is to take a break from one’s habits, the monotony, and their everyday routines. It’s time to book that vacation as even doctors recommend it to do so. Exerting time off from one’s work or the daily grind not only serves people de-stress and be happier, but it also promotes productivity and mood as long as one can do it right. Yet the perks of a vacation are explicit. People know that taking a break is remarkably good for their mental health as it puts them in an unusual frame of mind, gets them out of their standard patterns and can even reward precious time with family. In a sense, it also helps hard-working people hit the refresh button. In a survey of 414 travelers, 94% said they had as much or more energy after returning from a good trip, and 55% who had a low-stress trip turned to work with even higher levels of power than before. Of course, the kind of vacation matters. If planned inefficiently, a vacation can lead to more stress. According to a 2010 report, a holiday where there’s lots of travel stress, like estimating transportation logistics or feeling unsafe, can make vacationers appear less happy and more fatigued than they were before the trip. Taking some time to plan the journey can help guarantee that things run smoothly as some people in a survey said they had a bad vacation experience since they left planning to the last minute. Even if a trip seems to be filled with more misadventures than good memories, all is not lost; one can usually turn weird, sad or frustrating experiences into family jokes. Anyone’s nightmare travel stories can help them to share and bond with families or partners. Vacations are not for luxury or joyride alone; they are quite a requirement for a well-balanced, healthy life which are as essential as eating well and getting proper exercise. Here are the top 10 reasons to take a vacation in one’s life and celebrate vacations to the tee in one’s life:

1. Vacations Release Stress

Stress is a sure physiological response which are basically meant to help and keep us safe as it releases hormones like cortisol and epinephrine for the fight or flight rejoinder that was inevitable for early man. However, in current society, chronic stress can be detrimental to our bodies. Going away for proper vacations and dropping our everyday stresses give us a break from the continued high levels of these hormones and a possibility to fix some of the damage.

2. Vacations Can Foil Heart Diseases

Stress is one of the major patrons to heart syndrome and high blood pressure. Long-term education in both men and women have shown that vacations can subdue the risk of getting heart disease or a heart attack. Men who vacationed frequently were more than 32% less liable to die from a heart attack. For women who vacation regularly, that figure surges to 50% less likely to die from a heart attack.

3. Vacations Help Sustain Focus

Studies see that chronic stress can change the brain part that inhibits goal-directed activities and generates problems with memory. Constant work with no breaks or vacations can make people seem blocked and bewildered, and have problems concentrating. Surveys show almost three-quarters of people who vacation regularly feel energized and more ready to tackle the tasks at hand.

4. Vacations Can Prevent Illness

There is an entire field of research called psychoneuroimmunology that decides stress and its adrenal dysfunction can change your immune system and make one susceptible to various illnesses. It can increase our chance of catching infections like colds and the flu, as well as more severe conditions such as sensitive bowel syndrome. Some researchers even suppose that long-term stress may partly contribute to cancer. A recent survey uncovered that people who take regular vacations report being and feeling healthier.

5. Vacations Improve Our Sex Life

Studies have confirmed that high cortisol levels associated with stress can generate a negative feedback loop in the brain and weaker levels of sex hormones like testosterone, contributing to lack of libido. Surveys register people who vacation regularly reported greater romance in their relationships which likens to better sex!

6. Vacations Make One Happier

Neuroscientists have observed that brain structure can really be altered by chronic exposure to stress hormones adding to depression and anxiety. Research also says that women who do not take adequate vacations were three times more prone to get anxious and depressed. This confirms a survey which found people who take frequent vacations were reported feeling remarkably happy with an overall feeling of well-being opposed to those who did not holiday. And many reported these effects satisfying and lasting beyond their actual vacation.

7. Vacations Strengthen Relationships

Vacationing with one’s family or loved ones help in simulating closer bonds. Studies have seen women who take sabbaticals with spouses report feeling more content with their marriages. Research has also revealed a correlation between children’s academic success and summer family holidays. These shared activities foster family bonding, which is invaluable. Family vacations build more dear memories than any other pursuance. In fact, other studies have noticed people place a greater value on the partaken experiences they have on vacations compared to the material goods they have gained during their lifetime.

8. Vacations Make One More Productive At Work

Opposed to what it may seem like the common conception, studies show that extended vacation time for workers actually increases company productivity, and has been found to decrease the number of sick days taken off. Why vacation is important for employees? Generous vacation policies create an enhanced quality of life for employees, which translates into improved work quality. Workers also inform feeling more imaginative after taking time off, and way more than 70% of them announced feeling more fulfilled with their jobs when they took timely vacations at regular intervals.

9. Vacations Enhance One’s Sleep Quality

Researches have confirmed that people who take vacations often and travel frequently reported an almost 20% gain in their sleep. While on vacation, they equated an hour more of quality sleep, which even got carried over when they returned home after their vacations.

10. Vacations Help You Get Thinner

A bulk of overweight individuals agree to careless eating as in response to stress. Stress hormones like cortisol are associated with enhanced belly fat and weight gain, which is connected to heart disease. Studies have revealed that even when revelling a little more on vacation, people who are regularly on a sojourn feel more invigorated and are often found more live on vacation. They were also seen to have enhanced glucose levels and even had amazing weight loss about their waists. And last, but not least, having vacations can keep oneself young! Chronic stress is supposed to hasten biologic ageing as well as the ageing process. If one has to do themselves a big favour then they must make themselves a priority and take some time off. Medically speaking, doctors always recommend taking regular vacations as one of the most worthwhile prescriptions one can recommend for staying healthy! Its okay that one should take care of the do’s and don’t’s for a successful vacation. Vacations are a highway to fulfillment. One can learn more about ways to achieve their self-fulfillment, by finding the right action plan that will be most helpful to their pathway to satisfaction. So one must always Stay healthy, Stay happy and Stay Vacationed to enjoy their health and life to the maxim. https://www.allinahealth.org/HealthySetGo/SingleArticle.aspx?id=36507232167 https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/why-vacations-matter/index.html

2 thoughts on “Why Vacations Are Good For Your Health?”

Cristina Olivia says:
my vacation starts a few days ago. It seems that I was in prison for a long time. The only way to truly keep your heart healthy is the holiday.

December 9, 2018 at 12:39 PM
- Mukta Agrawal says:
  I completely agree with you, Cristina. Enjoy your holidays.
  
  December 24, 2018 at 4:54 PM

Lifestyle, Miscellaneous, Stress Management