Everyone knows a regular break from work can greatly increase your happiness. But do you realize how beneficial those breathers can be for your health? Vacations can do more than just make you feel a little more peaceful, by genuinely reducing stress you can lower your risk of heart attack and lose weight. It can also increase your productivity at work after you return, instead of being detrimental to your career. Getting in touch with nature can help re-center your mind and body, and witnessing the great power of the natural world can help put life in better perspective. Here are a few reasons you should start planning that off-week today.
Reduce Stress
The work environment can get incredibly hectic for people in our modern world. There is an “eat or be eaten” mindset present in the workforce that creates competitive, stressful environments for employees. Stress is incredibly detrimental to human health. By taking a weekend off, you will lower your blood pressure, increase your ability to fight off colds and flu viruses as well as make you look younger and healthier. Stress contributes to gained weight as well, so more days at the beach could help trim your figure.
Increase Happiness
This is an obvious one, but is necessary to mention. Many people settle for decreased feelings of happiness and reduced occasions of joy simply because that is what they believe life will entail. If you intentionally create time to set aside any stresses or responsibilities, you will have much better luck feeling content with your life when you return to it. Sometimes it can give you perspective when you step away from the day-to-day stresses and requirements and can cause you to be more grateful upon returning home.
Create Bonds with Family
While being present in your childrens lives on a daily basis is crucial for to form bonds, big memorable events can be crucial to forming lasting relationships. For example, your child may not remember that you were diligent in coming to every single one of their plays, but they will remember how you got stung by a jellyfish on a beach one year. Vacations allow your family to see the fun, happy you, not the one who is constantly stressed about work and bills. Setting aside this time can be important to letting you genuinely listen when your children speak and get to know one another better.
Help Your Heart
Studies have shown that people who regularly take vacations have fewer instances of cardiac trouble than workaholics. The Framingham Heart Study showed that women who take two vacations or more per year are eight times less likely to have coronary artery disease. Another study performed on men who already had increased risk for heart disease, showed that those who did not take a vacation annually were 32% more likely to die related to a heart attack than those who vacationed.
