Today we are supposed to function like machines. Best of all, 365 days a year. Regardless of whether it is sun, rain or snow. Regardless of whether during the day in the sweltering heat in summer or on cold, wet winter nights when the rest of the world is sleeping! For many people, work is stressful. And rightly so. Constant work and performance pressure has an impact on psyche and health - and it is extremely negative. Without recovery, this pace can be very difficult to maintain in the long run. And it is precisely for this reason that it is so important to ensure sufficient vacation and relaxation!
Effects of stress on the body
In the working world in particular, many employees and employers are unable to cope with the constant stress. The result is burn-out for many people.It has already been proven several times what effects stress has on the human body. While stress-related illnesses used to be ridiculed, the number of illnesses caused by them has risen rapidly thanks to globalization and the networked world. Work-related stress is mainly caused by mental overload. Usually the requirements are higher than the coping options!
Stress can be triggered by:
- The working atmosphere: In some companies - but also as a self-employed person - the working atmosphere is a key factor in the development of stress. If, for example, there is mutual mistrust, there is no trustworthy environment, or workload and feasibility are not valued in any way, the working atmosphere is primarily there for the creation. In extreme cases, bullying or personal conflicts can also trigger stress.
- The leadership behavior: Some people who are responsible for managing departments or entire companies are incompetent as managers. When executives don't assign precise tasks or conflicting tasks, they pass on a certain level of stress to their employees. It is not for nothing that there are appropriate training opportunities for management tasks, such as business administration or HR management.
- The qualification: On the one hand, this means that some people can neither perform nor have learned certain activities. On the other hand, however, the peculiarity of the workplace should also be mentioned. The stress level increases due to noise, dust, workload and long working days with comparatively little free time.
There are also several types of stress, which, depending on the form, can be hazardous to health in different ways. The long-term effects of stress, among other things, have not yet been adequately researched.
"Burn-out" in particular is on the rise in the world of work. Burn-out has little to do with the person themselves than with the hopelessness of the situation that many of those affected face. Burn-out usually begins slowly and can be recognized early on by the following features:
- Shortening and postponing vacation due to work
- Work is regularly taken home
- Feelings such as exhaustion, irritability, and emptiness arise
- Work is endured with great strain
- Important people become indifferent to people
- Despite the great enthusiasm for work, there was no success
- Too great, one-sided work in companies
One of the ways out of burn-out and permanent stress on the body is to go on vacation. Only by spending time for yourself and by suppressing the permanent workload and thus stress can recovery, vital energy, joy and health be restored.
What could a relaxing vacation look like?
Vacation is fun - an active vacation can also bring body and soul back into balance.Often when the subject of a "relaxed holiday" is thought of tanning for hours and days on beach chairs. After seven days at the latest, the beach, the well-known tourist bars and the hotel resorts are explored. What now?
What many people don't realize is that taking a relaxing vacation doesn't automatically mean doing nothing. This does not mean that you should work on vacation. On the contrary: vacation means giving yourself - and only yourself - and not your partner, family or friends a break!
So why not just go on an active vacation? Anyone who does a lot of sport during the year knows about the positive physiological and psychological effects of sport. The opportunity to pursue sporting activity can also be used on vacation.
The following active sports, for example, would be easy to learn and fun despite the effort:
- Complete a diving course: In one of the many diving schools, which can be found almost everywhere in the world where tourists are drawn to the sea, in addition to well-founded technical equipment and equipment, special diving courses teach you the marine biology of numerous corals and the deep blue, endless world of the oceans. The best thing about it: diving courses are usually cheap and guarantee feelings of happiness and amazement in the water in the right regions!
- Go skiing: If you want to switch off in the dreary season and have enough of the fog and cold of the city, you should take the opportunity to ski down wide slopes in the high mountains in the middle of a wonderful mountain panorama. In addition to a lot of sun, which we especially lack in the winter months in cities and in the country, skiing is also a sport that is suitable for beginners and advanced skiers.
- Swimming, running and cycling: All three sports can be practiced with almost no effort. If running is too strenuous during the day, you can try it in the early morning hours or at dusk! Swimming is also a very gentle sport that is gentle on the joints and that allows our skin to relax in the sea. Bikes can usually also be rented on vacation - in addition to many places that would exhaust you on foot, cycling is particularly healthy for our cardiovascular system.
What should be considered when doing activities on vacation?
When stress is keeping you in check, vacation relaxation is important. Holidays with light & moderate activities are particularly effective in helping to recover.Of course, proportionality must be observed in all activities on vacation. A little exertion is allowed, but the added value should be noticeable especially after exercise. Anyone who feels exhausted or has circulatory problems after the activities should take it more leisurely in the future or switch to "gentler" activities.
Please note during activities:
- Target: The vacation should not consist mainly of sport, but of relaxation. Overexertion and self-evidence are neither expedient nor healthy!
- Effect: The activities should have a noticeable effect after exercise! Your own body and its level of training are decisive for the intensity and type of sport! Training plans are to be discarded on vacation - it's about relaxation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one can say that activities while on vacation are a great way to actively counteract stress in the workplace and burn-out. Those who take an activity vacation actively protect mind and body!