Who doesn’t love vacation? There’s something about going somewhere away from home that has such an appeal to it. By going on vacation or just taking a small trip, we get to escape the monotonous routine of our everyday lives. We get to go have an adventure, have some relaxation, have a change, and just take some time for ourselves. In addition to these benefits, vacation is actually good for one’s health.
One of the major benefits of vacation is it relieves stress and anxiety. If you are a complete adventurist and your vacations consist of intense and risky activities, then maybe anxiety won’t be relieved. However, if you’re like me and appreciate a nice and relaxing vacation, it will help reduce your levels of stress you’ve been facing throughout your week. Taking vacations can also be good for your heart and decrease your likelihood of getting heart disease. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood institute lead a study that showed how men who took vacation time from work were 32 less likely to develop a heart condition or disease. During time off of work, people are more likely to catch up on sleep which improves health greatly and will alleviate stress. When employees take more vacation time, they are also more productive. It was shown that employees who take at least 10 hours of vacation improved their ratings at the end of the year by at least 8 percent (Daskal). People are also happier and more content at their job after taking some vacation, so they are less likely to leave their firm.
Relationships can also be affected by going on vacations. By going on vacation with your significant other, you are able to focus on each other without the daily distractions of work, and other obligations at home. Maybe this could contribute to why couples go on honeymoons after they get married. It’s a time when they can spend time and be intimate with each other early in their marriage before they have to continue with their daily routines. I think that when we are on vacation, we are the happiest versions of ourselves and who wouldn’t want that? Going away with family also can improve your relationship with them and can allow you to have a meaningful time with them. Think about your most memorable trips to the beach with extended family you haven’t seen all year, or that time you went to Disney World with your parents and siblings and had the time of your life. Parents take joy in being able to give their children an amazing, once in a life time experience while they too are having a great time. Even if “going on vacation” is just taking time off at work as an adult, it can still be just as beneficial. Personally, when my mom gets to take her week vacation over the summer she is so happy and cheerful because she gets to cook for her family, spend time with us more, and have her work stress go away. Whether it’s going to the beach for a week, traveling across the country for the first time, or just taking some days off work to relax at home, vacation is something everyone needs in their life. Coming back isn’t always the easiest, but it’s important to look out for ourselves and our personal health.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jill-l-ferguson/health-benefits-of-taking-a-vacation_b_9384466.html
https://www.alamo.com/en_US/car-rental/scenic-route/travel-tips/health-benefits-taking-vacation.html
http://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/4-scientific-reasons-why-vacation-is-awesome-for-you.html
I think an interesting variable that you have not taken into consideration is how affluent these people are. I’m assuming that because these people are on vacation they have some type of wealth that gave them the ability to go on vacation. Maybe money is a confounding variable in the correlation between vacations and good health. However, some studies do say that wealth does not equal happiness, including this article: http://www.economist.com/node/12637080. I think researching the factor of money will certainly help improve the research.
Unfortunately, I have had somewhat of a different experience when it comes to going on vacation with a significant other. During my junior year of high school, around 30 of my classmates and I went on a trip to Italy. The trip was not an official school trip- we traveled through a company called EF tours, but all the kids in our group were from my school anyway. As you can probably guess, my girlfriend was on the trip with me as well. The concept of traveling together seemed awesome, but once we got there, it was a bit less pleasant, as the two of us had different agendas and priorities for each city, and we disagreed on several things. Obviously, this experience was a lot different than any honeymoon, because I was with a lot of my guy friends as well and she was with a lot of her girl friends. In addition to that, I’m sure we could’ve had a very successful and peaceful trip, and I’m sure maturity played somewhat of a factor in the matter. In reference to family, I’ve had plenty of positive experiences with family members during vacations, and I couldn’t agree more with what you’re saying. Stress levels are lowered on vacation- which is always beneficial!
I could not agree with you and everything you stated in this post more! Vacation; whatever it constitutes as is something so essential to us as humans. We are taught at a young age that we will have to work and provide for our own families at some point in our life but they never tell us that it is basically like being on house arrest. Many countries enforce vacation policies for their workers, today, the United States is one of the few coutries where employers do not have to pay their employees on vacation. There is also not a set amount of dates required to give employees off for vacation. This is something that is left up to the discretion of the employee. Other countries that require vacation; paid vacation keep in mind, have claimed to have longer life spans and to having less stress than those in the United States who make minimum wage and who have no paid leave. Who in turn cannot take time off and risk not being able to reach ends meet simply for the luxury of having a few days to destress and “vacation”. The following articles compare some of the working statistics of workers in the United States and in other countries.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/08/13/one-few-countries-that-doesn-mandate-paid-vacation-time/eqodEqumohPyca5kt6hrZO/story.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2014/08/01/would-we-be-happier-if-we-all-vacationed-at-once-yes-research-says/