FIT & WELL’S INSPIRATIONAL columnist KATY HILL is here every issue to share her straight-talking wellness strategies with us. Katy now runs her success coaching business, Limitless, helping clients reach their full potential, and is here to share her constructive positivity
WE ALL NEED SOME VITAMIN SEA!
HOLIDAYS, WHO NEEDS THEM? WE DO!
YOU ARRIVE AT the airport WIRED after what feels like a whirl of packing, logistics, sorting the pets, and a terrible night of ‘will I miss the alarm’ sleep. Struggling to steer the overloaded luggage trolley you pass check-in and passport control - ALL the queues and all with a knot of ‘have I thought of everything’ in your stomach. A quick blitz (and spritz) around duty-free for yet more to carry then the race to the (typically furthest) gate. After cramming your possessions into the overhead locker you slump into your seat before passing out on take-off. Sound familiar?
Possibly not because The Rosy View Effect documented by Harvard in the late ’90s discovered we actually look back on holidays with fonder memories than we experienced during them. We forget the lost baggage or the hornet sting or the prickly heat and our memories erase the stresses experienced. In that last week before a holiday begins, feelings of wellbeing and good health actually decrease, especially for women with families, who’s workload increases with the stress of packing and leaving the home. Yup, back to that mental load again.
Even when we get to our destination, those first few days of holiday are oft en accompanied by bad sleep, headaches and bloating. A physiological decline in the stress hormones pumping through your system can ironically make you feel rubbish - like a car going from fift h to first gear. But still - we love overseas holidays! Since our 2020 reality has played havoc with life as we knew it and the summer holiday we’d planned may now be in the UK not overseas (or even now happening in our own homes) it’s important to get the physical and psychological benefits of a ‘holiday’ - whatever the reality is.
Scientists from the University of California School of Medicine found that six days away from home triggered genetic changes - boosting the immune system, dampening stress and lowering levels of proteins linked to depression and dementia. Psychological benefits? A huge boost in mental health. So even if our passports aren’t getting stamped in 2020 - how can we make sure we get the many benefits of a holiday power-up? Our holiday packing list might look a little different this year but we can still make sure we’re ticking things off :
REST
PSYCHOLOGICALLY THERE’S BEEN so much going on this year and, whilst it might feel weird to be in need of a holiday, given that many of us have been at home, getting a break from all the ‘noise�
