Have a holiday at home
By Christina Larmer
The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
January 11, 2009
On holidays we tend to eat, sleep and play better. So why not aim to do those things every day?
For most of us, spending time at a luxurious day spa is a rare treat usually reserved for special occasions and holidays, but not for Suellen Donnelly.
The Mullumbimby psychologist and single mum has an annual membership to the Byron at Byron Spa and Wellness Centre, where she gets to enjoy yoga, massages and free rein of the pool and spa facilities all year round.
It sounds heavenly, but for Donnelly, it’s about valuing herself every single day.
“I joined the spa as it made financial and practical sense when I moved into a house right across the road,” she says.
“Earlier this year, when life was overwhelming, the spa became my therapeutic retreat. When life demands were too much, my time by the pool and wandering around the lily ponds was my solace and nurturing.
"I feel valued when I go there, and acknowledge this is also about me valuing me. It is still a juggle to keep up regular visits, but every time I go I think, ‘Why don’t I come here more often?’”
You may have asked yourself the same question when you finally booked in for a massage, found time for that walk or headed off on holiday.
We know how wonderful these things make us feel – numerous studies show that regular holidays are as crucial to our health as good nutrition and exercise – we’re just not very good at making the time.
Not only has leisure time shrunk (a third of us now regularly work unsociable hours and/or on weekends), a recent national survey found that the current economic climate is forcing many of us to forgo holidays completely.
“I think it’s got a lot to do with de-prioritising our own needs,” says Donnelly.
“We’re still socialised, especially as women, to serve everyone else before ourselves.
"Yet we’re supposed to have one day off a week and eight hours’ sleep a night.
"When that doesn’t happen on a daily basis, that’s when you start depleting your reserves, and by the time you do go on holiday you’re exhausted, and then all the viruses kick in.”
What’s worse, a recent Newspoll survey showed that within a week of returning home, up to 80 per cent of us feel as though we’ve never been away.
The key is to stop investing so much in our annual holidays and start putting a little more into every single day.
1 Clarify your needs
Do you holiday for rest, stimulation or quality time with loved ones?
“Reflect on past holidays,” advises Melbourne-based educational and clinical psychologist, Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg.
Ask yourself, ‘What were the things that I found satisfying? What made me feel good? Was it the extra walk I did every day or the change of scenery?
"And how can I factor some of that into my normal week, whether it’s going for a walk three times a week or planning different meals?’”
Once you know what you get out of holidays, you can start adding a little of it into every day.
2 Restore balance
Many of us binge on R&R on holidays and starve ourselves the rest of the time.
Relaxation requires consistency, argues US health expert Sarah Brewer in Simply Relax: An Illustrated Guide To Slowing Down And Enjoying Life (Ulysses Press).
“As valuable as taking a break from routine can be for short-term stress relief, true relaxation comes only after we have learned to deal with life’s natural flow, and restored the balance between body and mind, while following a few simple rules on the practicalities of living (such as eating healthily, taking gentle exercise and regulating our sleeping),” she writes.
"This way we can begin to remove ourselves from the hectic pace of modern living and make relaxation an integral part of our lives.”
3 Keep it fresh
They say a change is as good as a holiday, and with good reason. “A holiday is about doing something that is different from your normal routine,” Frydenberg says.
“That’s the important element. So if you’re working all day on computers, do something completely different (in your downtime). Really find the contrast.”
Make every day a new day: take a different route to work or find new hobbies.
4 Add more meaning
If your weekends are spent in shopping malls or watching TV, ask yourself, how fulfilling are they really?
The 2008 Australian Happiness Index found that most of us are happiest when we’re having meaningful interactions with loved ones, such as sharing meals together.
“Shopping might make you happy for five minutes, but then you have to work harder to pay it all off,” Donnelly says. “Instead, do something creative that’s meaningful for yourself and others.”
5 Simplify your life
Similarly, researchers from The University of Nottingham have found that it’s the simple things in life - listening to music, a long soak in the bath - that impact most positively on our wellbeing. They are things you can do every day.
Holiday every day
• Invest in a plush white bathrobe - you’ll feel like you’re at a luxury hotel each time you step out of the shower.
• Splurge on exotic fruits, croissants and fresh coffee for a DIY continental breakfast.
• Pour a bubble bath, light some aromatic candles and exhale.
• Dress up and enjoy pre-dinner cocktails, then sit down to a candlelit meal with loved ones.
• Decorate your bedroom with fresh flowers and muted lighting, and pop a chocolate on your pillowslip.
Keep the buzz going
What do you love most about holidays? Here’s how to add a little holiday joy to your life…
Holiday joy: A slower pace
Everyday ploy: Get up 20 minutes earlier each day and enjoy a meditation, breakfast or walk.
“Instead of waking up to the alarm clock and operating on adrenaline all day, have a slow start,” psychologist Suellen Donnelly says. At night, try switching the TV off.
Holiday joy: Delicious food
Everyday ploy: Invest in new cookbooks, try new restaurants and start a dinner party club. Buy foods rich in tryptophan, a protein used to make serotonin, the mood-regulating hormone.
Holiday joy: Leisurely travel
Everyday ploy: Studies show our stress levels are often as high as fighter pilots when we commute, so treat yours as a road trip: allow yourself time and take music or a book.
Holiday joy: Clean rooms
Everyday ploy: Have regular spring cleans, invest in quality bedding and declutter.
Holiday joy: Sleep (and lots of it)
Everyday ploy: Deepen your sleep by listening to relaxing music and sipping milk, honey and cinnamon beforehand.
A Harvard study found it only takes a few weeks of healthy sleep to feel re-energised.
Holiday joy: Sightseeing
Everyday ploy: You don’t need to leave home to be stimulated: decorate your space with holiday mementoes and visit museums, parks and new cafes on weekends.
Holiday joy: Me time
Everyday ploy: Instead of blowing the budget on one holiday, use some of that money to outsource cleaning and babysitting and use that time for rest or pampering.
Holiday joy: Thrill rides
Everyday ploy: Take up rock climbing or surfing and throw more parties. “When we are excited, the hormone adrenaline turns on our alertness,” health expert Sarah Brewer says. “Without that spark, life would lose its colour.”
Holiday joy: Family time
Everyday ploy: Make every Sunday Family Day: go on a picnic and play sport or games.
Holiday joy: More romance
Everyday ploy: Couples could designate a Date Night each week to be alone.
Holiday joy: Getting back to nature
Everyday ploy: Splurge on flowers and make time for walks and picnics.
By Christina Larmer
The Sunday Telegraph (Australia)
January 11, 2009
On holidays we tend to eat, sleep and play better. So why not aim to do those things every day?
For most of us, spending time at a luxurious day spa is a rare treat usually reserved for special occasions and holidays, but not for Suellen Donnelly.
The Mullumbimby psychologist and single mum has an annual membership to the Byron at Byron Spa and Wellness Centre, where she gets to enjoy yoga, massages and free rein of the pool and spa facilities all year round.
It sounds heavenly, but for Donnelly, it’s about valuing herself every single day.
“I joined the spa as it made financial and practical sense when I moved into a house right across the road,” she says.
“Earlier this year, when life was overwhelming, the spa became my therapeutic retreat. When life demands were too much, my time by the pool and wandering around the lily ponds was my solace and nurturing.
"I feel valued when I go there, and acknowledge this is also about me valuing me. It is still a juggle to keep up regular visits, but every time I go I think, ‘Why don’t I come here more often?’”
You may have asked yourself the same question when you finally booked in for a massage, found time for that walk or headed off on holiday.
We know how wonderful these things make us feel – numerous studies show that regular holidays are as crucial to our health as good nutrition and exercise – we’re just not very good at making the time.
Not only has leisure time shrunk (a third of us now regularly work unsociable hours and/or on weekends), a recent national survey found that the current economic climate is forcing many of us to forgo holidays completely.
“I think it’s got a lot to do with de-prioritising our own needs,” says Donnelly.
“We’re still socialised, especially as women, to serve everyone else before ourselves.
"Yet we’re supposed to have one day off a week and eight hours’ sleep a night.
"When that doesn’t happen on a daily basis, that’s when you start depleting your reserves, and by the time you do go on holiday you’re exhausted, and then all the viruses kick in.”
What’s worse, a recent Newspoll survey showed that within a week of returning home, up to 80 per cent of us feel as though we’ve never been away.
The key is to stop investing so much in our annual holidays and start putting a little more into every single day.
1 Clarify your needs
Do you holiday for rest, stimulation or quality time with loved ones?
“Reflect on past holidays,” advises Melbourne-based educational and clinical psychologist, Associate Professor Erica Frydenberg.
Ask yourself, ‘What were the things that I found satisfying? What made me feel good? Was it the extra walk I did every day or the change of scenery?
"And how can I factor some of that into my normal week, whether it’s going for a walk three times a week or planning different meals?’”
Once you know what you get out of holidays, you can start adding a little of it into every day.
2 Restore balance
Many of us binge on R&R on holidays and starve ourselves the rest of the time.
Relaxation requires consistency, argues US health expert Sarah Brewer in Simply Relax: An Illustrated Guide To Slowing Down And Enjoying Life (Ulysses Press).
“As valuable as taking a break from routine can be for short-term stress relief, true relaxation comes only after we have learned to deal with life’s natural flow, and restored the balance between body and mind, while following a few simple rules on the practicalities of living (such as eating healthily, taking gentle exercise and regulating our sleeping),” she writes.
"This way we can begin to remove ourselves from the hectic pace of modern living and make relaxation an integral part of our lives.”
3 Keep it fresh
They say a change is as good as a holiday, and with good reason. “A holiday is about doing something that is different from your normal routine,” Frydenberg says.
“That’s the important element. So if you’re working all day on computers, do something completely different (in your downtime). Really find the contrast.”
Make every day a new day: take a different route to work or find new hobbies.
4 Add more meaning
If your weekends are spent in shopping malls or watching TV, ask yourself, how fulfilling are they really?
The 2008 Australian Happiness Index found that most of us are happiest when we’re having meaningful interactions with loved ones, such as sharing meals together.
“Shopping might make you happy for five minutes, but then you have to work harder to pay it all off,” Donnelly says. “Instead, do something creative that’s meaningful for yourself and others.”
5 Simplify your life
Similarly, researchers from The University of Nottingham have found that it’s the simple things in life - listening to music, a long soak in the bath - that impact most positively on our wellbeing. They are things you can do every day.
Holiday every day
• Invest in a plush white bathrobe - you’ll feel like you’re at a luxury hotel each time you step out of the shower.
• Splurge on exotic fruits, croissants and fresh coffee for a DIY continental breakfast.
• Pour a bubble bath, light some aromatic candles and exhale.
• Dress up and enjoy pre-dinner cocktails, then sit down to a candlelit meal with loved ones.
• Decorate your bedroom with fresh flowers and muted lighting, and pop a chocolate on your pillowslip.
Keep the buzz going
What do you love most about holidays? Here’s how to add a little holiday joy to your life…
Holiday joy: A slower pace
Everyday ploy: Get up 20 minutes earlier each day and enjoy a meditation, breakfast or walk.
“Instead of waking up to the alarm clock and operating on adrenaline all day, have a slow start,” psychologist Suellen Donnelly says. At night, try switching the TV off.
Holiday joy: Delicious food
Everyday ploy: Invest in new cookbooks, try new restaurants and start a dinner party club. Buy foods rich in tryptophan, a protein used to make serotonin, the mood-regulating hormone.
Holiday joy: Leisurely travel
Everyday ploy: Studies show our stress levels are often as high as fighter pilots when we commute, so treat yours as a road trip: allow yourself time and take music or a book.
Holiday joy: Clean rooms
Everyday ploy: Have regular spring cleans, invest in quality bedding and declutter.
Holiday joy: Sleep (and lots of it)
Everyday ploy: Deepen your sleep by listening to relaxing music and sipping milk, honey and cinnamon beforehand.
A Harvard study found it only takes a few weeks of healthy sleep to feel re-energised.
Holiday joy: Sightseeing
Everyday ploy: You don’t need to leave home to be stimulated: decorate your space with holiday mementoes and visit museums, parks and new cafes on weekends.
Holiday joy: Me time
Everyday ploy: Instead of blowing the budget on one holiday, use some of that money to outsource cleaning and babysitting and use that time for rest or pampering.
Holiday joy: Thrill rides
Everyday ploy: Take up rock climbing or surfing and throw more parties. “When we are excited, the hormone adrenaline turns on our alertness,” health expert Sarah Brewer says. “Without that spark, life would lose its colour.”
Holiday joy: Family time
Everyday ploy: Make every Sunday Family Day: go on a picnic and play sport or games.
Holiday joy: More romance
Everyday ploy: Couples could designate a Date Night each week to be alone.
Holiday joy: Getting back to nature
Everyday ploy: Splurge on flowers and make time for walks and picnics.
