It turns out that taking vacations is good for your health, your career and your overall quality of life!
Research has found that people who take frequent vacations perform better at work – and, therefore, receive more frequent promotions, have lower stress levels and sleep better.
Sure. You’re probably thinking: If I had the time and money to fly all over the world and be constantly vacationing, I’d have a better quality of life, too. The thing is, you don’t need that much time or money to maximize the benefits you receive from time off and time away.
Several recent scientific studies have demonstrated that happiness levels experienced from vacations are largely felt during the planning and anticipation phase before the trip. And the rewards of a vacation tend to even out after several days away. That means you get the same restorative sense of wellbeing from a long weekend 80 kilometres away from home as you would from 10 days in the south of France.
In fact, some experts conclude that taking more frequent, shorter vacations is more beneficial than longer trips. This is because they come without the added stress of returning to your job after a long break to a backlog of work that piled up in your absence.
A study published in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life found that more frequent, shorter vacations delivered much more happiness than fewer, longer getaways since the study didn’t find any relationship between the length of the vacation and overall happiness. Its lead author, Jeroen Nawijn, told the New York Times: “The practical lesson for an individual is that you derive most of your happiness from anticipating the holiday trip,” he said. “What you can do is try to increase that by taking more trips per year.”
The good news is that Ontario is filled with magical spots within just a few hours by car that are perfect for long weekends and road trips. Plan a few mini-vacations this summer and explore all that this province has to offer. It’s good for your health and happiness.
Here are a few of our favourite spots for getting away from it all that are deceptively close to home.