Study shows holidays can help people live longer

When I read this in the press a few weeks ago I thought that it must have been a bad news day given they are stating the obvious. The Australian study said that taking holidays increase happiness, better health and could be prescribed in the future by doctors for depression . Oh yeah, I hear you ask, who will pay for that...the taxpayer, especially when we are reducing a record deficit! But what we don’t factor in is how much of tax payers money is used to prescribe drugs for depression.

The study triggered a thought process on what people are looking for from their holidays and how this has changed over the years. The old style fly and flop holidays have gone out of fashion, particularly for professional people, who are now demanding more from their valuable time off. They have been replaced with experiences where you can learn, heal and grow in a beautiful environment. It’s about getting results and coming back with a return on your holiday investment.

We have seen this over and over again with our clients . For many of them sitting on a beach with a bit of pampering every now and then is not enough. They want to achieve something and come back with knowledge, tools and feeling rejuvenated so they can deal with the additional stress everyone is encountering at work nowadays. That is why we are extremely stringent with our quality checks for our wellbeing packages and all details are thought of, from the quality of the treatments, to the food and other activities to name a few.

So its all moved on to be about R O I - think about how your next holiday can give you a return on your investment and hopefully help you live longer.

Stella

Stress Vaccine is Bad...or is it?

I read a report last weekend about scientists from California developing a vaccine that will reduce ongoing stress. On a simple level, this is how it works. When we are in a stressful situation our fight or flight instinct produces a hormone that helps us deal with the situation. Unlike animals, this hormone will not disappear once the situation has been resolved but will linger to produce toxic chemicals that go straight to the brain and undermine our immune system, contributing to the onset of disease. So, the scientists are working on a vaccine that will neutralise the bad hormones before they can damage the brain. Apparently this is years away but trials have been very effective on rats.

I have a bit of an internal conflict going on about whether this is a good development or not. There are so many “natural” tools to help to reduce stress that I consistently advocate. Yoga, meditation, exercise, having fun with friends, holidays (especially wellbeing escapes)....the list is endless so why can’t people adopt techniques that are proven to enhance wellbeing and reduce illness?...the answer is many people can and do and many people are open to finding out more.

BUT there is still a big chunk of the population who thinks its all a bit mumbo jumbo and prefers to pop a pill or have an injection for instant results. Can we convince those people otherwise?...probably not, so the vaccine can actually have a positive effect on those who wouldn’t use any natural means anyway. I also have a vision of lots of calm, happy people with less aggressive behaviour and more positive vibes. Am I dreaming?...possibly not.
Stella