Life, Vacations, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Happy Independence Day from SellMyTimeshareNOW.com and all of the Vacation Ownership.com LLC companies. As you relax and enjoy the day, somewhere between the cookout and the fireworks, you might want to take a few minutes and think about your personal commitment to leisure time and vacations.

Research has indisputably established that taking regular vacations enhances both mental and physical well being. The Framingham Heart Study, which has been monitoring subjects on the topic of heath disease since 1948, found that women who take a vacation only once in every six years (or less often) are eight times more likely to develop coronary heart disease or have a heart attack than are women who take at least two vacations per year. In 1992, the research was updated to allow for other variables such as diabetes, smoking, and obesity and still the study returned the same finding: failure to take regular vacations does significantly increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Some studies have put the numbers as high as the risk being 30 percent greater for women.

And for men, the failure to take regular vacations doesn’t serve you any better. One study published in 2000 showed that in a group of 12,000 men studied for more than nine years—men who were already at risk for coronary heart disease—those who did not take a regular vacation increased their risk by 21 percent of death, and by 32 percent of death from a heart attack.

We all have commitments and responsibilities. But one of those responsibilities is to ourselves and indirectly, to our families and those we love, to stay healthy and live a vibrant life. As you celebrate your July 4 holiday, make it your personal independence day. Declare your rights to life, and the pursuit of happiness!