Take a Vacation to Boost Fertility: Why We All Need A Reboot
Last year was quite the year for all of us. Stressed out about isolating and avoiding COVID, we were also working more hours and spending less time with people. Parents were pulling double duty and as a parent, I would say teaching is a job in itself and then some. The world was closed down and we couldn’t go anywhere. In short, it was a stressful year. So, what’s in order? A good long vacation. You deserve it!
Most Americans are vacation deficient.
Unlike many developed countries, we don’t have a federally mandated minimum as does the European Union with at least 20 days. France has 30 days, the UK has 25 days. And you don’t need to work 20 years in one place to get it in these countries, either. It comes when you start working. Amazing, right?
To top off the fact that Americans have less time-off, one in four Americans don’t even take the measly time off they receive—essentially giving vacation days back to their employer. That’s like handing cash back to their boss! Please tell me you don’t do this.
Does it matter if I don’t take my vacation?
Yes, yes and yes! First, taking vacation matters for your mental health. Time off and away reduces stress and allows your mind, body and spirit the time to deeply relax and refresh!
Arguments in favor of vacations:
First, did you know that people who don’t take vacation are actually more likely to die early? In Japan, there’s a name for it. It’s called Karoshi which translates to “death by overwork.” Netflix has a great documentary called Happy that highlights Japanese reverence for work and the number of mostly middle-aged men who die with no discernible cause other than overwork. Being stressed and overworking can harm your health in a serious way.
Second, vacation matters for your sleep. Catching up on sleep and not having the time pressure of a back-to-back schedule can induce a state of deep relaxation. To get this benefit, don’t overbook your vacation!
Allow for unstructured daily time for napping or relaxing in the afternoon and plan to get 8-10 hours of sleep a night if you can do it. Just being in bed, laying down, even if reading (a real book, not your phone and definitely not scrolling emails), will help your body relax.
Third, taking vacation matters for your fertility. Women who are more stressed are less likely to get pregnant and chronic stress can lead to a host of health issues from inflammation, triggering-autoimmunity, delayed or missed ovulation, which messes up your cycle, weight gain and an increase in blood glucose (thus increasing your risk for diabetes and making it harder to get pregnant).
How does stress impact fertility?
High cortisol has been shown to make it harder when trying to conceive (TTC). An NIH/University of Oxford study supports the widespread belief that stress may reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant. The study is the first of its kind to document, among women without a history of fertility problems, an association between high levels of a substance indicative of stress called alpha-amylase and a reduced chance of becoming pregnant.
Alpha-amylase is secreted into saliva by the parotid gland, the largest of the salivary glands. The substance is secreted when the nervous system produces catecholamines, compounds that initiate a type of stress response.
The point is that stress, no matter how you measure it, can hurt your chances of TTC and is just not good for you anyway. The best way to reduce your overall stress is to take a break and do a deep reset.
How does prolonged stress harm me?
The human body was not meant to go without rest. Hunters and gatherers worked very hard to find food and when they were full, they rested deeply.
Cortisol is a stress hormone the adrenal glands release. It helps your body deal with stressful situations, as your brain triggers its release through the sympathetic nervous system—the “fight or flight” system—in response to many different kinds of stress.
While the short-term release of cortisol can help you run quickly from danger, when cortisol levels are too high for too long, this hormone can hurt you more than it helps. This is one reason why I test 24 hour cortisol levels in my clients in our fertility program. How is stress impacting your ability to conceive?
Over time, prolonged stress where you don’t take a break to reset can lead to an array of health issues such as weight gain, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, insomnia or difficulty sleeping, moodiness, and low energy levels. Who needs all those health issues when TTC? And more importantly, you want to bring a baby into the world in good health.
A healthy mom + a healthy dad = a healthy baby.
Need to book a vacation? Here is your to-do list.
Identify your budget and what you want (beach, mountains, nature)
Block time on your calendar (daily, weekly) to find a place and set a deadline, i.e., by the end of July you must find a place to go. This can be fun!
Find the dates and ask for that time off now. Don’t change it if work changes—you need to take care of you.
Book it! Book a minimum of a week at a time if you can. Taking a full week makes a difference and if you can take more, do so! Many of us have unused PTO from COVID-19 and we should use it all.
Consider buying travel insurance If you are going overseas or if there’s a chance you’ll need to cancel, to ease your mind.
Now that pandemic restrictions are easing, you might find everything is booked-up as I did. I was a bit hesitant about booking in the midst of the pandemic and apparently that is when every beach house got booked. We ended up doing a city vacation with good hotel rates since business travel isn’t back, while the beaches are full. We are planning a beach trip for September when the crowds let up.
How to make your vacation actually relaxing
Plan ahead and make sure you have what you need. Get your sunblock and beach, mountains or camping gear in advance. Do your research on what not to miss while you’re there and what to do in the event of unplanned weather.
Unplug. Get coverage at work and do not “check-in”. That defeats the purpose of going away. It also shows that you can’t let go of work. I put away messages on both my work and personal emails. Take a break from a computer and your phone, period.
Get into nature during your break. Did you know that just twenty minutes in nature reduces your stress hormones? Whether it is an outdoor city stroll, lounging on the beach with a good book, or hiking.
Take naps and sleep-in.
Exercise, but not too much.
Eat well.
Have fun and laugh!