How Holidays Can Make Us Happier and Healthier

We’ve teamed up with Health and Fitness Travel to find out whether going on holiday can make you healthier, as well as happier.

In the midst of a busy day, you may find yourself wanting to slow down and escape to a stress-busting getaway. But sometimes guilt gets in the way, even with adequate time and money to spare. Psychological research suggests that spending your time and money on experiences in lieu of material things can actually make you happier. An experience such as going on a holiday is one of the many things that can give you the best psychological bang for the buck. “People are more inclined to talk about their experiences than about their material purchases, and they derive more happiness from doing so”, according to Kumar and Gilovich, professors of psychology.

Now the question is, does going on a holiday actually make you healthier? Aside from the positive psychological returns, holidays have the potential to transform the mind and body. With the rise of wellness travel, we can now embrace the opportunity to improve our health while on a well-deserved break. Focusing not only on providing a relaxing experience, going on holidays has a lot more to offer. Here, Health and Fitness Travel, experts in bespoke wellness holidays share the health benefits of travel.

ThePower of anticipation

The effects of travel are not only present during or after your holiday – those who are waiting to go on a holiday are generally much happier, a study by the University of Surrey suggests. Expectation of a holiday encourages positive emotion and is also believed to have a boosting effect on one’s view on their general quality of life.

Reduced stress

Traveling is a way of pulling yourself out of your daily routine and introducing yourself to a new environment. It also recharges both mind and body that results to significant stress reduction. According to a study by Expedia, the majority of travellers advised they let go of stress after a day or two into their trip. This makes them well-rested, less anxious, and puts them in a better mood. In other words, de-stressing through travel enhances a person’s psychological functioning.

A Healthy heart

A number of studies suggests that going on a holiday influences cardiovascular health. In a journal published by the American Medical Association, it is said that men who take frequent annual vacations were 32 percent less likely to die from heart disease than their counterparts who forwent time offs. Similar research shows that women who took holidays once every six years or less were eight times more likely to have heart disease than those who took no less than two holidays a year.

Physical perks

Whether you prefer physically demanding active holidays or a peaceful spa break, the physical benefits to a good break are diverse and highly enriching. Reduced blood pressure, increased resistance to infection, weight loss and relief from muscle pain and tension are just a few of the potential physical perks of travelling.

A Sharper mind

Introducing yourself to new experiences and environment has the potential to make your mind sharper. This allows the brain to reap the benefits that result from discovering different location and activities. Thus, it increases your cognitive stimulation and results to an improved ability to concentrate and better memory. Through consistently challenging your brain you are able to build resilience at the cellular level so degenerative disease is potentially delayed.

About Health and Fitness Travel

Health and Fitness Travel is a global luxury wellness travel company that originated in the UK in 2010 and is committed to providing healthy holidays that enhance and change lives. Created by Paul Joseph, Adam Heathcote and co-founded in Australia by local Director Samantha Lippiatt as a result of their combined passion for health and fitness travel and offering bespoke holidays to improve people’s well-being to lead happier and healthier lives.

Health and Fitness Travel offers clients a tailor-made seamless service with the very best health and fitness holidays, handpicked by its expert team, together with exclusive and added value packages with the best deals. As leading specialists, Health and Fitness Travel have also created their own healthy holiday collections in various destinations which include Fusion Fitness and Discover Recover, offering clients the best value and holiday experience. For more information visit: www.healthandfitnesstravel.com.au

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