Why does pre-holiday stress affects women more?

The latest research indicates for women there is an increased probability of a pre-holiday health slump.  In the last few days and weeks before a holiday people often find they feel unwell and stress levels peak prior to getting away. Women are especially prone to this with forty-four per cent of women reporting an increase of stress during the build-up to holidays.  The added burden to a working week with holiday deadlines can mean lower immunity on holiday creating a susceptibility to holiday illness.  This blog will outline the factors included in this research and as always offer positive tips to reduce pre-holiday overload.

Why are holidays stressful?

Life is busy and holidays are the perfect way to de-stress and unwind.  Time out gives you the perfect opportunity to reset your health, recharge your batteries and unwind.   Holidays and time away from your normal routine is an untainted time to reflect on your life and the direction you are going in. What you can let go of and what you want to change?

And yes about 3 weeks into the holiday those lovely thoughts may well start to appear, and life can change when you return.  However, the pre-planning and extra workload prior to a getaway is overwhelming and can be catastrophic for your health.

What is Pre-holiday stress?

It isn’t simply the stress about what to pack and how to get everything inside your suitcase or your car! Research has proved that the build-up to a holiday with increased deadlines is particularly pertinent for women.

packing for holiday

Research from Portsmouth University has found that increased worry, stress and even disappointment can emerge before a holiday.  If you have spent hours and weeks fantasising about your great escape then the reality of a grubby accommodation, the noise of others and general workload build-up affects your health and wellbeing.

It isn’t simply the pre-organising of:

  • pet care
  • granny care
  • passports and visas
  • creams, lotions, insect repellant
  • traffic chaos
  • clothing shopping and packing

It is also that not only are women carrying out these additional tasks for themselves but also having to think these tasks through and action them for other family members – home and abroad.  This additional workload is in addition to completing work deadlines and other home priorities.

Preparation before the holiday leads to high anxiety.   This level of apprehension is compounded with holiday travel and traumatic events which also heighten your stress response like traffic delays, car accidents (or even car hire!), sick kids or loss of travel money or other crazy mishaps that occur whilst travelling.

These create a peak in stress.  This pinnacle creates an overload response for your body that can have an effect on your ability to fight off colds, sickness and ill health whilst on holiday, but also affects the wellbeing of your heart.  The consequences are classic and well documented in the ‘holiday sickness’ effect.  If this interests you then read more: Ill effects of not exercising whilst on holiday

How do Pre-holiday peaks stress overload?

Your life is busy and the additional overload can cause a spike in ill health.  The biggest concern for researchers is heart health.

Stress hormones like cortisol can reach a sudden peak at high-stress times, your brain can’t decide if this climax is because you are rushing towards several days relaxing or if it is simply the bigger stress, real-life response to running out of the way of out of control shopping trolley! (not dramatic enough? insert your own real-life modern drama please)

The point is cardiologists are warning us of the effects not only of long term stress but also the effect of the short bursts of stress.  This immediate and abrupt intensification leads to the stress hormones weakening the left ventricle of the heart.  This area of your heart is the main heart pumping chamber.  When this ventricle is damaged the heart is unable to pump an adequate supply of blood to your body will mean that all major body functions are disrupted and your heart can’t pump enough blood to support the function of your organs.

In addition to this effect on your heart, your blood pressure also spikes with this extra burden.

Short term burst of stress can create acute heart failure which means that whilst the symptoms appear suddenly they also go away fairly quickly.  Short term symptoms to look out for include shortness of breath and chest pain.  This is why research proves: Being bored is good for you

 

What is the science behind stress?

Stress and your stress hormones are in careful balance in your body. This balance is regulated by your Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis (HPA-axis) which comprises of 2 counterbalancing systems:

  • The parasympathetic nervous system is your body’s ability to rest and digest
  • The sympathetic nervous system is the fight, flight or fright response.

Your working busy life increases the sympathetic nervous response and your holiday should trigger your parasympathetic nervous system. Your exasperated reply is a common one, two weeks in the sun isn’t going to overturn a year of overwhelming.  Most women have an imbalance and lack symmetry in these two systems. Working in the ‘sympathetic’ quick response on a regular basis, without enough support for the parasympathetic avenue means that women, burn out because of the constantly activated sympathetic nervous response.

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What are the dangers of compounded stress?

The biggest concern is the effect of long term issues of stress.  Short term spikes are inevitable, you simply didn’t know you would be increasing them as much before a holiday. Other longer-term issues can make the short term spikes more dangerous.  The overload is quicker and more debilitating.

Stress is compounded by life experiences and events that haven’t been dealt with in the past.  Energy sits in your body, trauma has a physical manifestation in your muscles and cells. You only have to look at the shoulders of a stressed executive to know that stress is displayed as a physical symptom.  Other issues that increase your overall stress portfolio include:

Past experiences and early life

Trauma in early life issues creates a repeated behaviour pattern in adulthood.  Psychologists refer to this as codependency.  My book Gorgeous! how to look and feel fantastic every day goes into this in detail.  In summary, codependency is the cycle of behaviour.  If you have for instance an overworking mother or an alcoholic father you will create the same pattern of relationships in your adult life. for instance, working with a business partner who is an alcoholic workaholic! Breaking this cycle can be as simple as being aware of your own patterns. Being unaware and creating the same pattern creates long term stress.

Poor resilience and coping skills

A lack of coping skills compounds stress levels.    Without a longer-term strategy to your own stress levels will mean that the straw that breaks the camels back is an inevitability. Not being able to bounce back from daily triggers, builds a longer-term overload. You find yourself unable to cope with stressors that you would normally be able to cope with.

Lack of social support

Lack of social support has a significant and detrimental effect on your stress and health.  Your nervous system is improved with social contact and touch. Problems created by a constant battering of negative stressors are also made significantly worse if your coping mechanisms are poor. Being bullied at work is not so bad if you have a good social life, a supportive partner, and a loving family. It also helps significantly if you are physically fit and healthy.

 

Prefer Video? Watch My Video:
Why does holiday sickness affect women more?

How do you build ‘stress’ resilience?

The solution is in the long term, small daily habits that you have over a long period of time will increase your personal resilience to peak stress occurrences like holidays

  1. Daily relaxation practice – create a habit that lasts 30 days
  2. Great health which can start with drinking more water join my water challenge
  3. Improved physical health creating stronger muscles including and especially your heart health join the walking challenge
  4. Social support – talking it through with loved ones or going that one stage further and talking to a professional, 3rd party who can ‘see’ what is going on for you personally. If you would like to understand your stress indicators more, get to grips with the nutritional balance; find out more about The Gentle Reset

Knowing yourself is an interesting and thoughtful journey, which will offer you so much more than simply your weight loss. You are fascinating, you are intriguing, you are amazing. Return back to the women you were, when life was full of anticipation and hope for your future. Regain your best health with nutrition, an exercise routine that suits your schedule and your fitness level and the latest science around mindset and mental health.

Headspace that is filled with negativity does not help you or your loved ones. If you would like to understand your body more, get to grips with the nutritional balance that will work for you feel

Ever considered working with a Health Coach?

It’s taken me years (and loads of mistakes) to work out how to fit in nourishing nutrition, fulfilling exercise around my life which includes my coaching business, my Pilates obsession and 3 kids! And now I coach busy, successful woman over 40 to do the same – via my membership community and The Gentle Reset – and I’d like to invite you to join me see what it is like find out more: read the blog The Gentle Reset Based on the latest science from the world of nutrition, neuroscience and exercise I’ve created a coaching programme that will create habits that will keep you energised for life.

 

What results should you expect?

University lecturer and business owner Rachel explains “I am starving, therefore, I must be losing weight, but the scales were going the opposite way – I was confused…”​ Rachel is a busy professional, hardworking and successful who lives life at “100 miles an hour”. She fits a lot into her day and she was looking for some help with her health that could be “easily absorbed into her day” She noticed she was getting a lot of colds, feeling lethargic, she knew it was because she wasn’t putting the right nutrition in her body. You can hear Rachel talking about how she changed her life click here Find out more about the success stories click here

How much does it cost?

Your investment is currently £415 but this is for a limited time, the price will be increasing soon. There are big changes happening inside of my programmes and from March 2021 the costs of all my training will be increasing.

the Gentle ResetBE QUICK this programme, along with all my programmes will be increasing in price very soon

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PS. If you have read enough and you know that this is for you, and you are ready to discover the next stage of your journey  – then click here to join my next round 

Here is what other clients have to say…

“It’s not easy exactly, however, breaking it down into healthy chunks helps,” says Anne-Marie

Book a time slot in my diary here: http://meetme.so/get-gorgeous

Anne-Marie Teaching Assistant 11th September 2017

 

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