Wednesday 1 September 2010

How to holiday

I think it's fair to say I have one of the more unusual combination of degrees (Economics and Nutritional Therapy) and consequently also have somewhat varied reading. I often get inspiration for my blog from nutrition and health magazines however it's less common to be inspired by my weekly subscription to the Economist.

Having said that, last weeks Lexington covered the topic of why Americans find it hard to take holidays. To be fair, they're given a measly average of 13 days a year (compared to our 26) and yet they still 'gave back' a total of 436m days last year. I've personally never had a problem using up my full holiday allowance each year thoroughly enjoying time off work, but maybe it's also because I realise how important proper downtime is for health.

Stress is a major contributor to ill health, most commonly linked to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, impaired immunity, infertility, diabetes, impaired digestion and weight gain but playing a role in almost all disease.

A good way to think of stress and how the body deals with it is to think of a bucket of water. A stressful lifestyle, which is the norm in the city, puts holes in the bottom of the bucket and the water starts to leak out, the more stressful life gets the bigger the holes and the faster the bucket empties. Ultimately if the bucket totally empties you've exhausted your reserves and this is when people crash experiencing exhaustion often leading to diagnoses of chronic fatigue, ME and/or depression.

But there's good news .. even if you've got holes in your bucket you can top up your reserves to keep the bucket full - counteracting the drain of stress. So what tops up the bucket?

Sleep - getting enough tops it up, too little puts more holes in the bucket.

Yoga, meditation, walking, gentle swimming or jogging - gentle exercise is restorative, whilst tough workouts aren't and so need to be counteracted with even more sleep and relaxation.

Proper downtime - not watching tv or surfing the net, but total relaxation without mental stimulus. If you find this hard to achieve on your own try a complimentary therapy such as massage or reflexology to help you relax.

Nutritious food - vitamin C and B vitamins along with other nutrients help the body deal with stress and so a healthy diet rich in fruit and veg, wholegrains and lean protein can help support the body in dealing with stress

Holidays - ok so not all holidays ... a weekend trying to keep track of your kids in euro disney or an action adventure holiday in the alps are not going to be restorative. This is why it's good to try and have one week a year of proper relaxation, this means going somewhere where you won't be tempted to run around sight seeing or do any very physically demanding activities, somewhere you can relax, both mentally and physically and get plenty of sleep and rest. Staying at home is not fully relaxing as you'll be aware of chores or other tasks that you could be doing instead of resting. If you've got kids and peace and quiet is a rarity even a weekend away on your own will can do a lot of good.

And if you're one of those people who brags about not using all their holiday allowance ... you may want to start taking it!.
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