by Dr Deborah Lee, Dr Fox Online Pharmacy
https://unsplash.com/@chrishcush
Did you know that working long hours kills 745,000 people every year? In a 2021 WHO study, working 55 hours or more per week increased the risk of stroke by 35%, and of dying from heart disease by 17%, when compared to those who worked 40 hours or less.
Yet British workers are reluctant to take time off work and have a holiday. In a recent study by Glassdoor, 40% of workers took only half of their annual leave entitlement in the past year. 13% took only 20% of their entitled leave. In another survey by Reed, 54% of workers had forgone at least 3 days a year of their annual leave. They also worked an average of 70.5 hours of unpaid overtime each year.
Taking a holiday should not be seen as an optional extra. There are so many positive benefits from getting away from work.
Read on and find out.
Take a break from your daily routine – Our lives are impossibly busy. We spend so much time juggling things to manage the ‘to do’ list, among the daily demands of life. This leads eventually to tiredness, stress, and mental fatigue. You might recognise the signs of burnout – feeling less enthusiastic about work, sleeping badly, and your worries can become overwhelming. But taking a holiday means you can break that spiral, distract yourself, and concentrate on yourself.
Less stress – Taking a holiday is known to lower stress. Chronic stress means living with an overactive sympathetic nervous system. This is physically unpleasant, causing symptoms such as headaches, irritability, sweating, breathlessness, a fast heart rate, insomnia – and many more. But on holiday, warm sunshine, outdoor exercise, social engagements, good food, and better sleep, all contribute to switching this off. Your blood pressure is likely to fall, along with lower levels of adrenaline and the stress hormone, cortisol.
Going on holiday has been found to have similar effects on wellbeing as practising regular mindfulness and meditation.
Reduce your risk of a heart attack – Yes it’s true. In one 2000 prospective study, a group of middle-aged men at risk of heart disease were followed up for 9 years. At the end of the study, those who had had the most frequent vacations had a 32% reduction in death from cardiovascular disease. Having a holiday is doing your heart a big favour.
Reduce your risk of metabolic syndrome – Yes it does! In one 2020 study, 63 workers were seen and assessed, including giving details of their holidays in the previous 12 months. After analysis, those with the more frequent holidays had the lowest incidence, symptoms, and signs, of metabolic syndrome (MS).
MS is a condition in which a cluster of symptoms increases the risk of cardiovascular disease – high blood pressure, abnormal blood glucose levels, increased visceral adiposity (tummy fat), and abnormal cholesterol or triglyceride levels. A diagnosis of MS significantly increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.
Better mental health – Taking a holiday is very likely to help lower anxiety levels and improve symptoms of depression. In a 2019 American study, for every 10 days of paid vacation, women’s risk of depression was reduced by 29%. As depression is a serious condition that leads to work absence, poor productivity and contributes to long-term physical ill health, employers need to recognise the importance of their staff taking their annual leave.
Sleep longer – In a study by New Zealand Air, a group of travellers were asked to wear a sleep tracker on their wrist and had their sleep monitored for from 3 days before and until 3 after they got back, from a holiday. Results showed that after the holiday they were sleeping an hour longer every night, and also their reaction times were 30%-40-% faster.
Final thoughts
What are you waiting for! What’s not to like – taking a holiday will help you to destress, do your heart and circulation a big favour, boost your mental health, and improve your sleep.
Even planning your next holiday increases happiness and will lift your mood! After the holiday, you will feel refreshed, and accomplish those everyday tasks more quickly and efficiently. Holidays are known to increase productivity.
39% of UK workers took less paid time off in 2020 in the pandemic (You.Gov)
- Do you need a holiday?
- Isn’t it time you took yours?