In defense of vacations
In case data helps you move something from theory to practice, I’ve got a juicy one for you today:
“This is real evidence that vacations are important to your physical health.”
The evidence the author is referencing is a study she co-authored called the Framingham Heart Study that looked at women over the course of 20 years. Controlling for obesity, diabetes, smoking and income, the study found that women “who took a vacation every 6 years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than those who took at least two vacations a year.”
Similar findings were found later in a group of 20,000 men that showed that those who didn’t take an annual vacation were 32% more likely to die of a heart attack.
It’s true. This constant hustle ain’t easy. We need a vacation. More importantly, we need to write a giant permission slip that says it’s ok to pause.
I talked, last month, about burnout and the reality of stress on our health.
Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed and burned out in our hyper-connected modern world is real. Yes, supplements, herbs, and nutrition will go far. But, the real solutions here is daring to stop. Taking time off, often, is one of the more challenging recommendations in my practice.
Still, I’m going to be straight: the real cure is rest. Daring to choose sanity and groundedness in a world that applauds hustle.
Take the radical pause.
Put the phone down. Take an extra moment with those you love and listen. Hike in the woods. Linger at the dinner table. Take that vacation. Rest and restore.
Your health, longevity, and well-being are depending on it.
Warmest,
Antonella
