Vacationing can be good for your health

During this blog we have talked about different forms to having a healthy lifestyle, such as; eating healthy, doing different forms of exercises, being spiritually healthy like doing yoga and meditation, along with talking about mental health.  As the school year winds down, and everyone going home for the summer I wanted to talk about sometimes going on a vacation or getting away from your hectic life can be great for your health. Even the anticipation of a getaway can be more satisfying than remembering it once you get home. When we start planning a vacation, even if you don't take one, it can improve your frame and mind. An improved mood or mental "lift" can start to kick in immediately. The "restoration process" when you take a vacation is also called 'recovery' - reversing the negative effects of demands and through engagement in self - chosen and pleasant activities. When you are constantly going
and under pressure, stress hormones can spike, which can affect your health. Depending on the person. this may translate into more colds, headaches and getting sick more often. When you relax, sleep, and eat properly, you can help get your health back in balance. There are also many health benefits. To the right there is a picture of me and my best friend Kasia in New York City last summer, the looks on our faces are so stress free and you can tell we we're having such a good time! We we're in such a stressful time right before graduation we just needed a break!
For example, relaxing may lower your cortisol or stress hormones. It is important to rest, refresh, and decrease the chance of mental burnout. You want to power back up mentally and physically. Some research sows that connecting to what you enjoy and getting the proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep can help optimize levels of serotonin and dopamine. We are energy machines. We have to replenish the energy we expend. We crave them psychologically because our brain neurons want two things more than anything else for long term fulfillment: novelty and challenge. Vacations provide both in spades. Taking vacations offers various physical and mental health benefits, along with it can make you a greater well - being. You will have increased mental power and improved family relationships. Spending time enjoying life with your loved ones can keep relationships strong. A study shows that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages. You can have such a boosts in happiness; a person can feel the effects up to eight weeks before the trip! The bottom line is, taking time away from the stresses of work and daily life can improve our health, motivation, relationships, job performance, and perspective and give us the break we need to return to our lives and jobs refreshed and better equipped to handle whatever comes. Going on a vacation doesn't necessarily mean you have to to leave your home and go somewhere else! A vacation is whatever you make it out to be! Whether that is leaving your home to go get a drink at the bar, or to just have some 'me' time. It is always best to go some place outside of your home and even out of your state. If you go to the beach or a different state you are more likely to get more excited about it! Taking a vacation relieves stress, so having time off of work can result in fewer stress related physical complaints such as headaches, backaches, and heart irregularities, and they still felt better five weeks later. Vacations can help heart disease prevention. Men at risk for heart disease who skipped vacations for five consecutive years were 30% more likely to su

ffer heart attacks that those who took at least a week off each year. Even missing one year's vacation was associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Getting more done in less time allows us to get ahead and be more productive, but it takes consistent to focus to be truly productive. When you're more productive, you're happier, and when you're happier, you excel at what you do. Restless nights and disrupted sleep are common complaints often stemming from the fact that we simply have too much on our minds. Overall there are so many people that think working 24/7 will be no problem and will make them work harder, but in complete opposite taking vacations or breaks every once in a while is actually a lot better for your health. That's why companies give their workers and employees a certain number of vacation day per year, because employers know that it's important to have a break or vacation every once in a while so people can take a break and then get back on track with all of their works.

xoxo Megan