Hi and happy Feel-Good Monday!
This is where we share our favorite tips, tricks, secrets, and ways to "think like a healthy person" so that you can find your own delicious path to healthy living.
"Feel-Good Mondays" are meant to help us get back into that place of feeling energized, nourished, and ready to take inspired action for the week ahead.
If you know me, you know that I love vacations.
For me, being on holiday means adventure. It means discovering (or rediscovering) people and places that I love. It means taking a break from the usual work tasks and responsibilities, from running errands or doing the laundry, and truly focusing on enjoying the day (days!) laid out before me.
"Vacationing" can be done in fancy, far off lands, or it can be done right in your neighborhood (I refer to those delightful local vacays as "Today Day").
My definition of vacation means making time to be indulgent: have a glass of wine with lunch! It’s the time to do those fun things you never seem to have the time to do: check out your local museum exhibit, or take a walk in that neighborhood you keep meaning to check out. Or it can be a day to chill out: sleep til noon, watch old black & white movies all afternoon, order in from a fancy restaurant.
And, as if I actually needed another reason to take a vacation, Conde Nast Traveler magazine reported that taking just 2 vacations a year can cut a person’s risk of heart attack by 50%!!
Yes, my friends, that means that there is actual evidence that shows that taking an annual (or, ideally, bi-annual) vacation actually makes you scientifically, verifiably healthier!
But despite the clear health – and mental – benefits a relaxing vacation can offer, many of us Americans refuse to take all of our vacation time. 34% of American workers don’t use up all of their allotted vacation time, even though we get far less time off than many other countries. (Our European counterparts don't seem to have the same vacation phobia that we do.) In most European countries, for example, 6 weeks paid-vacation is the law-required standard.
So whatever vacation time you do have, take it!
Almost any kind of holiday trip can have a positive benefit on your health – whether it’s a quick weekend away or long and luxurious 3-week vacation.
That’s because most of us tend to feel happier and less stressed just in anticipation of a trip, and once we’re actually away, we tend to sleep longer and better and feel more relaxed overall. What’s more is that the positive, relaxing effects of a vacation has been shown to last for 5 weeks after the vacation, too!
Want more tips for a healthy, enjoyable vacation this summer?
1) Check out my favorite snacks to pack for a flight.
2) I don't live in a little health bubble when I go on vacation: I can promise you, delicious indulgence goes down! But I also do my best to balance out vacay partying with healthier choices, too. Check out my tips on how to eat healthy while on vacation.
So what are you waiting for?! Pack those bags now!
Love,
P.S: Let me know what you where you're off to this summer! I'd love to hear about how you spend your vacation time in healthy, delicious ways. Comment on the vacation post on our Instagram page!
