Why taking regular holidays can save your life
The proximity of Christmas and the start of the new year in the calendar creates the opportunity for a lengthy break from work.
With judicious use of just a few days out of your annual entitlement it’s possible to enjoy almost a complete fortnight off.
Indeed, in my experience, many businesses will close over this period, with, at most, just a skeleton staff on the end of the phone in case of emergency.
If you’re in the position of being able to enjoy a good break, I think it’s important not to be tempted to work but instead, to take it.
Winter is the most common time to read articles on the benefits of recharging your batteries by taking time out from work and enjoying a holiday. While many of these are often commissioned by those with a vested interest, such as holiday companies and airlines, there’s no doubting the importance of relaxation, switching off from work, and spending quality time with your family.
I’ll admit that it’s far too easy to fall into the trap of allowing long working hours to become routine. But it’s hard to argue with the contention that holidays are essential to your wellbeing.
Furthermore, because they can refresh and revitalise you, they can also improve your productivity.
Indeed, drill down a bit further and it’s easy to find evidence that taking regular holidays of a week or more, can reduce the risk of serious illness and even prolong your life.
Evidence suggests that regular holidays can improve your health
In a US study carried out by Psychology and Health, researchers found that those who vacationed more frequently were less likely to meet the criteria for a diagnosis of a metabolic syndrome, such as heart attacks and other cardio-vascular issues.
A more detailed project published by Psychosomatic Medicine that followed more than 12,000 middle-aged men revealed that those who took regular annual holidays were less likely to die from those same illnesses.
Both of those reports, and a detailed 40-year analysis by the European Society of Cardiology found that even trying to balance longer working-hours with a healthy lifestyle won’t compensate for working too hard and not taking holidays.
Long working hours can increase your stress levels
Your work environment can easily become the biggest contributory factor to your stress levels.
Indeed, a survey carried out by Priory Group revealed that 79% of people frequently experience work-related stress with 73% citing their workload as a major cause.
Clearly, you need to be able to manage this to a certain extent. Most high-pressure and well-remunerated jobs will come with an element of stress, with the associated rewards of advancement and recognition.
However, it’s important to recognise the dangers that excessive stress can bring you.
For example, a Gallup survey confirms that stress can be a contributing factor to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even dementia. Importantly, it can also weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off infections, and create a vicious cycle of trying to work through bouts of illness and making yourself even more ill.
Going on holiday can improve the quality of your sleep
You don’t need to search too hard to find medical studies and media reports extoling the virtues and benefits of a good night’s sleep.
Indeed, poor sleep patterns are a common warning sign that you aren’t in good shape, either mentally or physically.
If you’ve got too much on your mind it’s easy for this to prevent you enjoying enough sleep. Likewise a poor diet and too much alcohol can easily leave you wide awake at 3am.
Researchers say that regular periods of time off from work can help interrupt the habits that disrupt sleep.
A study carried out by New Zealand Air found that after just two to three days on holiday, people were enjoying an average of an hour more of good quality sleep, and a big improvement in their reaction times.
Furthermore, when they returned home, the study found that they were sleeping close to an hour more each night and still had better reaction times.
Taking holidays can save your life
There is a wealth of research that shows that having regularly holidays of a week or more is integral to your wellbeing, and better performance when you are actually back in a working environment.
More importantly, perhaps, it also reduces the risk of certain diseases that can impair your life, or even terminate it prematurely.
For example a World Health Organization study found that working 55 hours or more a week, rather than a more traditional 35 or 40 hours, increases the risk of a stroke by 35%, and heart disease by 17%.
Additionally, a Forbes article supported this claim with particular reference to two complementary studies about the health of your heart:
- A Be Well, study found that people who went on holiday regularly were less likely suffer from high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and excessive cholesterol levels. Notably, the risk went down by a quarter with each additional vacation taken.
- A detailed study published by the US National Library of Medicine carried out over a nine-year period found that those who took more regular and long-term breaks from work were less likely to die from heart attacks and other cardiovascular problems.
Finally, if you think that research is rather US-centric, the largest health charity in the UK, Nuffield Health, conducted a study and discovered there are striking effects of not going on holiday. They discovered those who didn’t go away for a break had higher blood pressure, didn’t sleep as well, and had higher levels of stress.
With such a weight of evidence, it’s hard to argue with the headline suggestion that holidays can indeed save your life.
So maybe one happy, and strictly non-work related task you can set yourself over this Christmas is to book your next major holiday!
Get in touch
I’d like to take this opportunity to wish you a restful festive season, and a happy and prosperous new year.
If you’d like to arrange to talk about your financial planning in the new year, you can call me on 07769 156 250.
Please note
This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
