Step Away from the To-Do List

Here’s a fun (and important) fact about downtime and leisure activity. The more downtime you have, the better you feel – and the healthier you are.

Yet despite this well-known connection between health and downtime, Americans can be notoriously bad about taking time off. More than 50% of American workers leave unused vacation time on the table every year…to the tune of 705 million collective vacation days, annually.

Rest and recovery are as much a part of well-being as exercise, healthy eating, sleep, and all the rest. Our health deteriorates over time if we don’t take breaks for leisure. Fortunately, the reverse is also true. Taking downtime – even in small segments – benefits us in many ways, including:

• More positive emotions and fewer negative emotions and depression
• Reduced abdominal fat
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower stress hormones
• Better mood
• Feeling healthier
• Less tense
• Higher energy level

Giving ourselves time to recharge is a critical act of well-being and self-care. If you haven’t already carved out some time off this summer, try to prioritize doing that for yourself. If you find that you just can’t get away anytime soon, perhaps consider giving yourself a mini-recharge by finding a day or two here and there, or a few afternoons where you can cancel plans and just unwind.

Studies have shown that even the act of planning time off and looking forward to it can start to mitigate the effects of stress in the body – so why not start today?