We all value our vacation time and look forward to that time when we can get away from work. With the arrival of summer, the most important holiday season comes along with another reason to value our vacation time:its value to our heart health. While there is a lot of anecdotal evidence about the benefits of taking a vacation from work, a new study reveals the benefits of a vacation for our heart health.
“What we found is that people who have taken more vacations in the past 12 months have a reduced risk of metabolic syndrome and metabolic symptoms,” said the researcher. “Metabolic syndrome is a collection of risk factors for cardiovascular disease. If you have more of these substances, you run a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. This is important because we see a reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease the more a person goes on vacation. Since metabolic symptoms are modifiable, this means they can be changed or eliminated.”
In short, a person can reduce their metabolic symptoms – and thus their risk of cardiovascular disease – simply by going on vacation.
