- Hey guys.
As you know, I live a hectic life.
I'm bouncing around from television, to YouTube,
to the hospital, even a backup dancer at times.
Well, I'm not really a backup dancer.
But in all seriousness I haven't taken a vacation
since residency ended last year
and I've been working so hard on the YouTube channel
and all my other ventures
that I haven't really made time for myself.
It was truly perfect timing that Kissimmee, Florida
came along and asked me to talk about the health benefits
of taking a vacation.
So I dug into the research and here's what I found out.
Hold on, hold on.
Before we start, I was doing research
and I found a crazy statistic.
54% of Americans leave their vacation time on the table.
Let's hope after watching this video
you're not gonna be one of 'em.
Taking a vacation is good for your heart.
And I'm not talking about love here, your actual heart.
The Journal of American Medical Association found
that men who took frequent annual vacations
were 32% less likely to die from a heart attack.
These findings were backed up by the Framingham Heart Study,
one of the longest-running heart disease studies out there.
Women who took a vacation twice a year
were eight times less likely to have a heart attack
than those who vacationed every six years.
Taking a vacation can help with depressive symptoms.
A study done by the University of Pittsburgh found
that those who took vacations had more life satisfaction
and more meaning in their lives.
This is really important
because not only was there a decrease
in depressive symptoms,
but there was also a increase in positive emotions.
As a society we're so focused on removing
negative symptoms like depression,
we often forget to instill positive emotions.
That's why it's so promising to see that vacations
can do both of those things for you.
Taking a vacation can be good for your family life.
But, and this is a big but,
you have to log off your device.
Don't be part of this 27% of the population
that's frequently checking their work emails.
Spend some time with your family.
A study published in the Wisconsin Medical Journal
found that the odds of marital satisfaction increased
as the number of vacations increased,
which means more vacations, more marital satisfaction.
Taking a vacation can be a stress buster.
A study done on 900 attorneys in Canada
found lower stress levels upon returning from vacation.
These stress benefits are actually long lasting.
A study done in Vienna found that those who took a vacation
had a decrease in stress-related complaints
like headaches and backaches,
and those benefits lasted five weeks
upon returning from vacation.
It's important to note that up to 25% of people
feel anxiety and guilt for going on vacation.
You earned those days off.
You have to commit and enjoy them
to reap the health benefits.
This takes us perfectly into the next point.
Taking a vacation can boost your productivity.
The popular firm Ernst Young conducted
their own internal survey
and found that those who took 10 additional hours
of vacation time actually did almost 10% better
on their end-year reviews.
This also held true for the Boston Consulting Group
who found that those who were forced to take vacations
were more productive overall.
Now when you're more productive, you're happier.
And when you're happier, you excel at what you do.
Some of you may be small business owners
and are nervous to take a vacation.
But hear this, in 2011 an Intuit study found
that 82% of small business owners experience an increase
in on-job performance upon returning from vacation.
A small study commissioned by Air New Zealand
using wrist trackers measured vacation's effect on sleep.
What it found was that those who spend
two to three days on vacation added one more quality hour
to their sleep regimen.
Also their reaction times improved by 80%.
Get this.
You're not ready for it.
Taking a vacation can help you live longer.
That's right.
A study published in European Geriatric Medicine
found that those who took short vacations had higher BMIs,
worse self-rated health, and a higher all-cause mortality.
That means dying from anything.
Taking a vacation's not gonna make you immortal.
But the health benefits definitely exist.
So if you wanna live a long, healthy life,
you gotta enjoy yourself and take a vacation.
- Hey guys, you ready to let the dogs out?
- What? - Do What?
- I gave you the evidence-based health benefits
of taking a vacation,
but it's also important to do vacation the right way.
Too many people think that the only way to get
at these health benefits is to veg out on the beach.
Nothing can be further from the truth.
Enjoying a vacation can be about setting goals,
meeting new people, having new experiences.
I just came back from Kissimmee, Florida
and I went kayaking with alligators,
I went on roller coasters, which I'm deathly afraid of.
But it's all about enjoying what makes you happy.
Once you get into that stage,
that's how you reap the physical and mental health benefits.
Fun fact, since everybody's talking about boosting
the economy and creating jobs,
if Americans took all their available time off,
they would boost tax revenue by $21 billion.
And they would support 1.2 million jobs.
Crazy.
Huge thank you to Kissimmee, Florida
for sponsoring this video
and allowing me to reap the health benefits
of taking a vacation, as well as sharing with you
what those health benefits truly are.
As always, stay happy and healthy.
One of the longest running heart studies out there,
the Frangiman (claps) Framingham Heart Study.
Framingham, Framingham Heart Study.
Framingham, you gotta frame the ham.
The Framingham Heart Study, that's what it's named. (sighs)
Oh boy, the beginning was so smooth, too.
Why can't I say Framingham?
Say it.
- [Camera Man] Framingham.
- Why can you say it, I can't say it?
I'm like running out of air from some reason, it's weird.
Had higher BMI, worse self-rated health, and. (grunts)
Getting that cotton mouth.
I even kayaked with.
(yells)
We would boost the economy by $160 billion
and create 1.2 billion million jobs.
I messed that up.
We would get $121 billion in business profit booms.
Doctor, YouTuber, TV host, exotic bird photographer,
professional sandwich technician, bowling ball. (laughs)
Punisher, I was gonna say.
Bowling ball polisher, professional llama jockey.
All right that's good.
(relaxing music)