4 Examples of How Vacations Can Improve Your Health

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By David

When you sign onto a typical workplace job, deep commitments to quality standards translate into long hours at work. In addition, employees often find that they need additional periods to commute to and from their jobs, adding to the daily time involved with working at a place of employment. These situations can contribute to burnout and stress for those showing up every day to do what they do best. However, one way you can help to reduce that workplace anxiety can arrive in the simple solution of taking breaks now and then. A vacation makes the perfect antidote to this type of workplace malady. Moreover, vacations can help you improve your health in four different ways.

1. They Give Opportunities To Spend Time With Loved Ones

During the usual weekday rush of all the hurried activity that often goes into preparing to get to and unwinding from work, spending quality time with your family members can get overlooked. Moments come and go quickly, and with them, the experiences that create good memories. Rekindle those moments when you have set aside uninterrupted time on a vacation, perhaps a Mexico cruise, to spend with family and close friends. Imagine the feeling of enjoying a sunny locale with delicious foods, exciting people to meet, different cultures to investigate and new places to explore. All this emotional fodder can give your most profound relationships a spark of energy and excitement that helps enrich and broaden them. In addition, the time can allow you to relate more deeply with those you love during a pleasant shared experience while on vacation and can open the door to improved mental health.

2. They Offer Increased Happiness

Let’s face it, booking a vacation and visiting a new destination can bring joy and happiness into your life. When you take the step to change your geography with a vacation that takes you to a place you have never visited before, it shakes up your usual routines, experiences and expectations. Because of this, you get to have small adventures at each point of the day. This sense of exploration can give you a feeling of elevation beyond your ordinary experiences and bring you happiness during the moment to benefit your mental and physical health.

3. They Allow You To Catch Up on Sleep

People in the workforce often find significant time challenges placed upon them to fulfill their job-related duties. Because of this, a common side effect includes working long hours that cut into sleep. Doctors often ask about a patient’s sleep habits as it can directly link to a person’s health, and if sleep deprivation occurs, your health can begin to slip. Vacations, on the other hand, can provide the perfect place to improve your sleep habits. Catch up on your rest and make it part of your vacation plans, especially at the beginning of your break from work. In this way, you give your body what it needs for optimal health, and it can start a habit that can follow you from the vacation and back to work.

4. They Provide Possibilities for Play

Many adults have forgotten how to play. When caught up in adult problems at the workplace, sometimes play can rank low on your to-do list, yet even adults need time to unwind and partake in pursuits that they find enjoyable. On vacation, for example, you might decide to try a new activity, such as hiking, or pick up a hobby that has long been neglected, like drawing or painting. Additionally, you might choose a physical activity that, once begun on vacation, can lead to better physical health over time if maintained. Regardless of your choice, make it something that brings a smile to your face and helps you reach a state of flow. Your deep involvement with what you do can cause you to lose track of time because you enjoy the activity, and this helps to create a sense of flow or being in the moment. This experience can significantly reduce the stress that might have built up from work and lead to new physical and mental benefits that you may want to continue upon returning home after your vacation.

Many employees can benefit from a long vacation or several shorter breaks from work taken throughout the year. Consequently, no matter how you break it up, you can improve your physical and mental health by taking the time to go on a vacation.