Scientists prove a vacation is good for your health 'because it cuts your risk of heart disease'
Whether it's relaxing on a beach, hiking or camping, holidays are something we all look forward to. And now a study has found getting out of the office or away from home is good for our hearts.
Scientists discovered the more vacations a person takes over a year, the less likely they are to develop metabolic syndrome. This is the medical term for a cluster of conditions, such as hypertension and high cholesterol, that together raise your risk of heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
The study also found that for every holiday a person takes, their risk of metabolic syndrome goes down by a quarter.
The research was carried out by Syracuse University, New York, and led by Dr Bryce Hruska, assistant professor in the Falk College Department of Public Health.
'What we found is people who vacation more frequently in the past 12 months have a lowered risk for metabolic syndrome and metabolic symptoms,' Dr Hruska said. ' Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. If you have more of them you are at higher risk of cardiovascular disease.
' This is important because we are actually seeing a reduction in the risk for cardiovascular disease the more vacationing a person does.
' Because metabolic symptoms are modifiable, it means they can change or be eliminated.'
Metabolic syndrome is made up of high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar levels, as well as excessive fat around the waist. It affects up to one in three adults in the US, Mayo Clinic statistics show. And one in four Britons, according to the NHS.
Metabolic syndrome can be prevented or reversed by losing weight, exercising and quitting smoking. However, how 'time off' affects our risk was less well known.
The researchers therefore analysed 63 workers who were eligible for paid holidays. The employees gave blood samples and had their waist circumferences measured.
Metabolic syndrome was 'diagnosed' if the participants had three or more of the following:
Waist circumference of more 35inches in females or 40inches in males
Blood pressure over 130/85mmHg Triglycerides of more than 150mg/dL
'Good' cholesterol level of less than 50mg/dL in females or 40mg/dL in males
Fasting blood glucose of at least 100mg/dL
The participants were also interviewed about any vacations they had taken over the past year.
In the past 12 months, they enjoyed an average of five breaks and used around two weeks' worth of their holiday days.
Results - published in the Psychology & Health journal - revealed those who took more vacations had lower rates of metabolic syndrome.
The odds of meeting the syndrome's criteria was 16 per cent among those who took five vacations a year. This went up to 46.7 per cent for those who took no holidays. And for every additional vacation they took, their risk of metabolic syndrome decreased by 24 per cent.
The participants ' rated vacations positively'. They did not report finding travelling or arranging childcare stressful and had 'low levels of financial burden associated with vacationing'.
'Overall, vacations are experienced as positive events,' the researchers wrote.
The researchers believe holidays let us 'disengage from work and life' and ' spend time with family or share a meal with friends'.
This is significant considering the ' influential role social relationships have on physical and psychological health', they add.
Philippa Hobson, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ' Everyone is affected by stress. Some thrive on it but, for others, extreme or prolonged stress can prove detrimental to their heart health. Taking time out can be a great way to relieve tension, but you can also talk to friends and family and use your support network to share any troubles.