When it comes to stress and addiction, many research studies have successfully established a link between these concepts. No person is immune to stress, hence, we try to cope with it in our unique ways.

Some people rely on substances or some activities to help bring down their stress levels. While doing this proves to be effective, it is only short-lived, as they need more of these substances or activities to keep their stress levels low.

With time, a dependency develops which leads to addiction. Someone experiencing chronic stress has their physical and mental health at risk, especially if it goes on for a long time.

Stress can impair the normal functioning of every system and organ in the body.

It is more likely for someone suffering from chronic stress to rely on substances so that they can keep managing it.

With reference to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, using substances like alcohol or drugs will only affect your ability to manage stress.

Using these substances for a long time affects the part of the brain that is responsible for pleasure, motivation, impulse control, behavior, etc.

In the long run, the changes in the brain will make it difficult for the individual to stop using these substances.

So, even if there are negative consequences that come with these substances’ use, they do not mind.

These individuals will also experience unpleasant withdrawal symptoms when they try to cut off these substances without any medical intervention or professional help. They end up going back to alcohol or drug use.

It is important to learn how to manage stress in healthy ways to keep your body and mind in great shape.

Some of the health tips you can apply are practicing habits like exercising, eating a nutritious diet, seeking help from people, etc.

If you are struggling with addiction, consider seeking assistance from a professional to become sober again.

If you are having a mental health challenge, one of the ways to relieve yourself of some of the symptoms is to go on a vacation.

Many people live stressed-filled lives, and they barely get the chance to take care of themselves. The unavailability of self-care can cause harm to both physical and mental health.

Here are some of the signs that you really need a vacation  

Mental health illness symptoms

When you notice that you are feeling signs of anxiety and depression, it is a signal that you need to take a break. You might be trying to handle more than what is on your plate, and it may affect you in the long run.

Going on a vacation helps you to relieve stress and it provides you with calm feelings, which puts your body in a relaxed state. A vacation is one of the best options to leverage if you want your body and mind to heal from potential mental health problems.

Withdrawal from activities and friends

Another way to know that you need a vacation for your mental health is when you don’t find interest in staying around friends or doing your regular activities. You will notice that you prefer to be alone and just to keep to yourself.

When you observe that this has been ongoing for a while, it is a sign of mental health deterioration and you need a vacation.

Low energy levels

Sometimes when your energy levels are low, it might be that you need a break, and vacation might be the ideal option. Taking time out to go on vacation helps to keep you rejuvenated.

Inability to concentrate

When you discover that you are finding it difficult to concentrate on work and other activities, you probably need a break. With a well-planned vacation, you can get your mental health back on track.

Are you feeling overwhelmed by the demands of work? It could be time for you to take a vacation to get yourself back on track. It is dangerous to go the whole year without taking out time to go on a vacation.

Hence, by all means possible, ensure you carve out time to go on a vacation because it comes with immense benefits for your body. People who go on a vacation tend to be healthier than their counterparts who do not.

Below are what you stand to gain when you go on a vacation:

• Enhanced Mental Health

An improved mental health is one of the most major benefits you gain when you go on a vacation. The truth is, stress takes a great toll on your health and going on a vacation is one of the ways to counter its effects.

When you go on a vacation, it is important to keep yourself away from every form of stress so that you can maximize its benefits. It would interest you to know that the effects of vacation on your mental health remains for few weeks and even few months after the vacation.

• Enhanced Physical Health

One of the major causes of stress is high blood pressure and heart problems. If you want to avoid this, you need to go on a vacation. People who suffer and die from heart problems do not reduce their stress levels.

If you are someone with a heavy workload, you need to go on a vacation more often. It would be a great idea to take a day or two to relax from the tough demands of work.

• Boosts your Happiness level

If you want to feel happier, you need to be free like a bird. And you can easily achieve this when you go on a vacation. The stress from work can take away your happiness but with a vacation, it is easily restored and you will lead a happy and long life.

It is crucial to know that sleeping is essential for your health and interestingly, it is equally important as eating and exercising. Sadly, there are some factors that impair our natural sleeping patterns and these days, people do not sleep well as before.

Below are some importance of sleep to the body

• Body weight reduction

People who do not sleep properly are likely to gain more weight than their counterparts. Besides, poor sleeping habits is one of the most profound risk factors for obesity. If you are looking forward to losing weight and fast, you need to sleep more often.

• Fewer calories

Our bodies do not need much calories and this is one of the benefits of sleeping well. People who struggle with sleep-related disorders like insomnia, are likely to store more calories in their bodies. The reason is because, sleep deprivation affects the normal functioning of the appetite hormones, and this causes poor appetite regulation.

• Improved productivity and concentration

If you want your brain to function well, you need to sleep well. You must have found out that, one of the reasons why you found it hard to perform well when you are stressed, is because you’ve not relaxed. If you want to enhance your concentration and productivity, you need to sleep more often.

Sleep deprivation adversely affects some parts of the brain, and to revert this, you don’t need any medication or food. All you need is to sleep.

• Better immune system function

Do you know that sleep deprivation causes your immune system to decline? Various studies have pointed to the fact that, people who sleep more are likely to have stronger immune systems than those who don’t.

• Better social interactions and emotions

If you are looking forward to improving your social interactions and your emotional health, you need to get enough sleep. If you have a better emotional health, you will be able to recognize various emotions like anger, sadness and the likes. And you will be able to help yourself.

Exercise is any form of movement which requires your muscles to work, and your body to burn calories.

There are many forms of exercise which you can do like swimming, walking, jogging amongst others. Being active comes with many health benefits both mentally and physically, and they may even help you have a longer lifespan.

To begin with, exercise makes you happier. It has been proved that, exercise has the capacity to improve your mood, and reduce the prospects of feeling anxious, stressed and depressed.

There are some changes in some parts of the brain which are responsible for the regulation of anxiety and stress.

In this same light, exercise also improves the production of endorphins which is known for the production of feelings which decline the feeling of pain.

Exercise also helps you to lose weight. When it comes to obesity and weight gain, it would interest you to know that, exercise is an integral factor.

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Exercising on a regular basis helps to step-up the rate of metabolism, which aids you to burn more calories when weight is lost. Exercising also helps in maintenance of muscle mass and weight loss.

Also, exercise helps to increase energy levels. It is a profound booster for healthy people, and those who are suffering from diverse medical conditions.

Energy appreciably increases the energy levels for people who have serious health problems and chronic fatigue symptoms.

Also, for illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, Cancer and the likes, exercising helps to increase energy levels for people who are suffering from them.

It would also interest you to know that, exercising helps to improve your brain memory and health. Exercising aids to improve the functioning of the brain and the thinking skills of your memory.

To start with, your heart rate is increased, and this enhances the flow of oxygen and blood to your brain. It also promotes the production of hormones which help the growth of brain cells.

To wrap it up, exercise helps you to relax well, and it improves the quality of your sleep. When you exercise, there is an increase in body temperature, and when you sleep it drops.