© Getty Images
The Science Behind Why We Feel So Good On Vacation
Trending News: Taking A Vacation Has An Amazing Effect On Your Mind And Body
Why Is This Important?
Because it’s time you took a vacation, doctor’s orders.
Long Story Short
Scientists have found that the buzz we get from taking a vacation can provide important health benefits including genetic changes that lower stress levels and boost the immune system and that the effects can last for a month.
It usually only takes a matter of hours on a vacation to wonder why we bother dragging ourselves into the office day after day. While the glow of a holiday is pretty much wiped out within a week of being back at work, a new study suggests the "vacation effect" can actually last for as long as a month and have some serious health benefits.
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and Harvard discovered that taking a vacation of just six days can bring about genetic changes that reduce stress, boost the immune system and reduce some of the risk factors for dementia and depression with the health advantages visible for 30 days.
The experiment that gave the data saw 94 healthy women sent on a six-day retreat in California, all in the name of science. They were given blood tests before and after their trip and filled in surveys on their mental state. Those who had been on the retreat expressed feelings of well-being even a month after their trip.
The effect on 20,000 genes was analyzed and the beneficial results, especially in genes that control stress and the immune system, surpassed expectations.
Study author Dr. Elissa Epel from the University of California, San Francisco says:
“It’s intuitive that taking a vacation reduces biological processes related to stress, but it was still impressive to see the large changes in gene expression from being away from the busy pace of life, in a relaxing environment, in such a short period of time. Our results point to both a significant ‘vacation effect’ that benefitted all groups, and a suppression of stress-related responses.”
Interestingly, half of the women also took part in meditation and yoga sessions on the retreat and showed even greater effects with less stress reported 10 months after the vacation.
Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, a professor of neurology at Harvard University said: “Based on our results, the benefit we experience from meditation isn’t strictly psychological; there is a clear and quantifiable change in how our bodies function.”
More research is needed into exactly why the effects of a vacation are so massive, but for the time being this serves as proof, if it was needed, that yes you do need that week away. Book it now.
Own The Conversation
Ask The Big Question
Is this proof of the necessity of mandatory paid vacation?
Disrupt Your Feed
If science is telling me to get to a beach asap then who am I to argue?
Drop This Fact
According to the Framingham Heart Study, middle-aged men who skipped vacations for five years are 30% more susceptible to heart attacks.