Vacations as a relaxation tecnique

VACATIONS

Vacations are not luxuries; they are necessities. From the viewpoint of big business, the chairman of the board of a major corporation not long ago remarked: "We regard the rest period as a vital component of a year's total work situation, and I constantly remind our people that they II t' not scoring points with the corporation by refusing to take their valuations. 

Physicians have observed that non-vacation-takers often are plagued by poor mental and physical health, family conflict, and inefficient work performance. A consultant in psychiatry and neurology at one of the largest corporations in the country recently reported that "Between 85 and 90 percent of the problems that psychiatrists see at work are the results of off-the-job troubles, and many of these could at least be lessened by more frequent recreation and regular vacations."

For both man and woman, a proper vacation is important for both physical and mental health. And the essence of a proper vacation, at least for most people, is a complete change from the usual routine. It is possible to stay home and have vacation-doing things in the garden, the workshop, and the library, going to ball games, golf links, theater, and beach. 

This can save money and avoid some of the frustrations and disappointments sometimes involved in going away. But generally you can have a better and more rewarding time by going away; a complete change of scene and of people usually helps to improve morale. Should a family vacation together or separately? There is no hard-and-Last rule.

If tastes differ markedly, the family that is together all year long may well profit most by taking separate vacations. When tastes are much the same, the joint vacation may be more enjoyable. And there are families who enjoy vacations on the basis of compromise, doing this year what one member enjoys most, next year what another does. 

There are no clear-cut guidelines for how long a vacation should last. For some people, a two to four-week vacation once a year works well. More and more now, there is a trend toward dividing up vacation periods find taking two or more vacations a year. This, too, has its advantages on many people. 

HOBBIES AND OTHER RECREATION as relaxation tecniques

HOBBIES AND OTHER RECREATION

Recreation-refreshment of the strength and spirit after toil-is an extremely broad term. It covers physical activities which can be as vigorous as one likes, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, quiet activities Relaxation. It covers solitary activities and group activities. 

It covers. Cultural activities which can be considered creative and, for a while; it also covers activities that some may consider trivial that any activity which provides recreation cannot be dismissed as a utility. It is a common observation among physicians that patients who have developed hobbies and learned to enjoy recreational activities build to be healthier as well as happier.

And there is nothing trivial about that, ideally, each individual should have an indoor hobby and an outdoor one, both capable of providing genuine satisfaction. Some people prefer 10 change hobbies every year or two and even to relate their indoor and outdoor activities-so that, for example, one year archery may be the outdoor hobby and Indian art the indoor diversion, the next year the combination may be sailing and ship models. 

Others prefer to be casual, about choosing and staying with their hobbies. Hobbies need not be expensive. Some, such as gardening and refinishing old furniture, may be, in fact, more than pay for themselves.

In selecting hobbies, look for those you will really enjoy. Don't be like a businessman who, years ago, because his doctor had advised taking up a hobby, began to collect stamps. Dutifully he kept on collecting them though for him it was a bore. It took many years for him to realize that what he really wanted to do was to paint and that he had been mistaken in thinking that painting would be no suitable hobby for a man in his position.

Today he belongs, with great enjoyment, to a growing group of amateur "Sunday artists." Pick your hobby without regard to what others like or dislike, without regard to what may be fashionable or to what may seem to have some kind of "status." It should be something you like and want to do, something interesting, satisfying, relaxing for you. 

It is worth noting here that adult education is increasingly popular. It provides for some people opportunity to complete degree requirements. For others, it offers opportunities for learning about hobbies and even for acquiring new knowledge or skill for its own sake, as a hobby in itself.

Newspapers and magazines are full of advertisements and notices of adult education courses in colleges and universities. Your local public school board may also offer adult evening courses, ranging from arts and crafts to languages, current events, science, philosophy, and psychology. One of them is almost certain to appeal to you. 

What is relaxation and how to acheive it?

HOW TO ACHIEVE RELAXATION

Someone has remarked that the doctor who tells a tense, nervous, high- strung person to relax might just as well tell him to stop breathing. But the art of relaxation can be learned. If the guidelines we give you here do not work, then some form of treatment is required. It may consist of a few talks with your sympathetic physician or, in extreme cases of compulsive inability to relax, may require psychotherapy.

Any medical advice must take account of individual differences. No two people react precisely the same way to a prescription for digitalis or other medicine. Similarly, there is a tremendous difference in the way people relax; in what makes them relax, in how much relaxation they take, in how much of a toll work takes from them. We know two surgeons who work the same long hours from 8:00 A.M. to 7:00 P.M. with some night calls. Yet one ends the week rested, happy, and ready to enjoy a fun weekend; the other ends the week a bundle of nerves, with a body so tired that it takes until Monday morning before he has recovered his stamina for the week ahead. We know two business partners, one of whom returns from a month's vacation perfectly rested while the other returns from his vacation more fatigued than when he left. To achieve suitable relaxation, each person must take an inventory of need.

One chronically fatigued person we know did so and learned that his really effective work span-the time he could work at peak efficiency and without fatigue-was only four hours. He rescheduled his life, put a couch in his office, and with an hour's rest every four hours has increased his work output and become thoroughly relaxed. Consciously or unconsciously, a relaxed person has carried out an inventory and knows when rest and change of pace are needed during his daily work. Some men like to spend part of their lunch hour at a gym or athletic club, taking a swim or engaging in other physical activity; others prefer a nap or a book; still others thrive on luncheon with friends. There is an almost endless variety to activities that can provide restful, relaxing change of pace during the day. It's the change that is important-and at the end of the day as well.

The sedentary worker may benefit from a long walk or some jogging or other physical activity; on the other hand, the person whose work is physically demanding may need a quiet hour, stretched out, perhaps napping briefly, or listening to the radio or watching TV. Some fathers find relaxation with their children; others need to be insulated from the demands of the children-and possibly from any of the wife-when they arrive home. The housewife, too, is entitled to, and no less needs, change of pace. And it doesn't matter what the change involves, so long as it is restful and relaxing to the individual woman. A break for coffee or tea! Fine. A pause to watch a favorite TV program, call a friend, read a magazine or book-all good if the individual finds them rewarding.

No less than the man who works away from home, the woman who works at the demanding job of running a home and caring for children needs to make her inventory of need and find activities that diminish her fatigue and renew her zest. And for both man and woman, important elements in relaxation are recreational activities, sports, and vacations. 

Importance of rest and relaxation

A better understanding of the importance of rest and relaxation has been made possible by advances in neurophysiology providing new in- sights into what happens in the central nervous system. Investigators have been able to establish-by actually picking out the structures in animals and stimulating them with electric currents-that there are structures which have a damping or inhibitory effect and are in fatigue, and there are other structures which make up a system. 

If we sum up the vast amount of Neuro-physiological research, we fit this picture: An individual's mood-his ability to perform-at the given time depends on the degree of activity of the two systems. Inhibitory system dominates, the individual is in a state of fatigue; in the activating system dominates; he is ready to step up performance. This concept of fatigue helps to explain many symptoms otherwise difficult to understand.

All of us know, for example, that a feeling of tiredness can often disappear immediately if something unexpected happens or if a piece of intelligence or train of thought produces an emotional change. In such cases, the activating system is being stimulated. But if the surroundings are monotonous, if we are bored by what we are doing, the pitch of the activating system is lowered and the inhibitory system is in the ascendancy. 

And it is this that explains the fatigue that ran occurs in monotonous situations even when there is no stress. Monotony, by definition, is a wearisome sameness, a lack of change in the variety. And whatever the work we do, it can be considered monotonous work if it goes on without pause or change of pace.

We all are aware of the need for a good night's sleep, but too few of us recognize the need for rest and relaxation during the day. Many of us businessmen, professional people, and others-who not only work hard but are under heavy stress could live more comfortably without sacrificing efficiency-indeed, with increased efficiency-and probably live longer if we managed to take breaks during the day and take them without guilty consciences.