Vacations Can Be Good for Your Health and Well Being

We need a vacation to stay healthy and remain happily married, but few of us take the time off we need. So say the results of a recent Westin Hotels “Wellness in Travel” survey of 1,500 Americans.

The study found that over half of the respondents failed to take all their vacation days. And more than half felt they needed a vacation more than last year. Regrettably, 64% canceled vacation plans due to worries over work. More than 67% admitted feeling healthier on vacation, and 64% slept better during their time away from the "desks and duty" of work. Married workers noted that taking a vacation helped strengthen their marriage.

Other research backs up these findings. Recent clinical research has proven the clear link between vacation and health. A Framingham Heart Study of 2,000 men found that those who took regular vacations were 32% less likely to die of heart attacks than those who remained stuck at their desks or cubicles.

Women who skipped vacations were up to eight times more likely to suffer from heart disease than those who took two vacations a year. And according to researchers at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Wisconsin, women who took one or more vacations annually were nearly twice as likely to be satisfied with their marriage.

A vacation or two can even be good for your waistline. A study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine found that frequent vacationers enjoyed a lower body-mass index (BMI). (Just watch the calories and coladas when you take that vacation to Maui.)

As a freelance writer, I often take time off to visit family and friends. Although, it's tough to tear away when deadlines loom and work continues to poor in. A vacation is something you simply have to schedule into your life as a survival necessity.

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