Last week, I took some time off to have a short vacation with my husband. It was long overdue; we both realised it had been over 12 months since we last took a break without our fur babies.
I thought I had been managing my stress levels. I was eating good food, taking my supplements, doing regular yoga classes, and sleeping well.
But I had started to become intolerant about silly little things. So it was time for me to listen to the advice I give others and prioritise time for self-care. And self-care includes taking time to relax and have regular vacations.
What are the benefits of taking time out for a vacation?
Firstly, research proves that having a healthy lifestyle doesn’t negate our need for a vacation!
Taking vacations reduce our stress levels and improves our mood and work-life balance.
Time away allows us to see our lives from a different perspective so we can make helpful changes when we return home. Our productivity levels also improve greatly after we’ve been on vacation.
It has even been found that those who have regular vacations have less heart attacks. So once again, we benefit mind, body and spirit.
My favourite benefit from taking a vacation is the additional boost of dopamine, the happiness hormone. When we consciously choose to engage in positive events or activities, we automatically benefit from the additional dopamine levels and feel more positive and motivated.
So when is your next vacation?! If you don’t already have something pencilled in, I hope this is a prompt for you to start planning an epic vacation soon!
As you read this, you may realise that when you start to plan a vacation or time out for yourself, there are energetic forces at play that stand in your way. If this is the case for you, reach out! We can shift that energy together in a personal 1-on-1 session.