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Emmy award-winning reporter John Biffar, hosts the local medical series Health Matters which airs on NBC2 News Today weekday mornings between 5-5:30 a.m. and during NBC2 News at 4:00 p.m.
 
 
 

      

Vacations and Our Health
Air Date: 1/7/06

The promising results from a recent study on heart disease, may have more doctors "prescribing" vacation time for their patients.

A few years ago, Wilma Kovacs said goodbye to stress when she started following the advice she had been giving others on a regular basis. "Vacations are necessary in life's crazy day-to-day situations. Stress levels are so high, the only way to get away from stress is to get away from stress."

Cardiologist Elizabeth Cintron says that a new study reported in The Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine demonstrated the positive power behind taking time off regularly. "So women that took vacations were less likely to have heart disease."

Dr. Cintron also says that just planning a vacation, whether it be a day at the beach or a week on the high seas, can help put us in a more relaxed state of mind. "I think that anything that works to reduce your stress level and make you feel good about yourself. Relaxation is a great way to reduce your stress."

Wilma says, go ahead and be creative when it comes to finding the time, to get away. "You need to find the time. And it doesn't have to be a week-long, a mini-vacation start on a Friday, come home on a Sunday, as long as you understand the components of total relaxation and doing what you need for you."

Taking full advantage of your vacation time means you should leave both your cell phones and pagers at home. Good advice, but will you follow it?

To make your vacation time even more relaxing, experts suggest looking for opportunities to experience the power of massage and physical activities like surfing or horseback riding.