What Is Leisure Sickness?
Leisure sickness is often confused with traveling sickness. It is a term generally used for stress-related changes in the body's metabolism, which can make a person ill when they want to adapt to a new place or a new environment post-travel.
Stress is the body's natural response to physical and psychological challenges an individual faces. In individuals suffering from leisure sickness, the fight and flight hormone or epinephrine and cortisol together create several functional changes in the immunity considerably weakening the individual or lowering physical resistance that would be attributed to the non adaptability to environmental changes.
How would these stressors increase when traveling, coming to the terminology called the "leisure sickness"? This can be quite possible because of environmental changes or new environmental triggers that would possibly stimulate stress patterns in a person (either during the period of travel or after reaching a place and then being unable to adjust or acclimatize to the environmental changes).
During moments of stress, the body tends to release two hormones, mainly the epinephrine (adrenaline) hormone and the stress hormone or cortisol hormone, that trigger the chain of events to help the mind and body better cope with stressful situations.
In high-risk population groups such as younger children, the pregnant, the lactating individuals, the geriatric or the immunocompromised population groups, or even those travelers with a history of systemic medications history, in all these cases, stress hormones can be easily activated, thereby reducing the overall immune response. Though a normal physically and mentally healthy individual may not be affected by a sudden change in climatic conditions or food or even in resting patterns, which would be all commonly happening when planning a vacation or a trip - in these less immune groups that are enlisted above, leisure sickness can happen more often because of their generally lowered cellular immunity.
In geriatric or older groups or children or infants, persistent stress increases the susceptibility to developing certain systemic infections. One of the classic examples is environmental changes triggering food poisoning or gastrointestinal issues in younger and aged individuals alike when a person travels to a new place. This would be because of the reduced immunity in these individuals and not the environmental triggers themselves, according to the latest nutritional research findings in medical literature. The fight-or-flight response that is characterized by the spontaneous release of the hormones epinephrine and cortisol tends to trigger physiological and psychological changes in newer environmental conditions in the high-risk population groups.
How to Prevent Leisure Sickness?
So how can one always be healthy or avoid sickness during a vacation or while traveling from place to place, as in when planning a trip? One needs to observe their child, age one, or himself, in fact, for any functional signs of stress. For example, when traveling from a hot tropical region where one stays there and suddenly becomes cool, the body needs to gradually adjust to these temperature changes before it adapts to its immunity in the new conditions.
This happens as a natural immune response that temporarily redirects the body's resources when the environment is changed. Medical researchers suggest that blood, oxygen, or glucose - do not deviate away from the non-essential organs like the gastrointestinal system or the urinary bladder to the essential systems like the neuromuscular system or eyes or respiratory systems.
The body gradually adjusts itself without any deviation. In the high-risk population groups that are less immune and more predisposed to environmental changes or triggers, they can have their functional stress levels activated because medical researchers have demonstrated through scientific evidence that there can be a switch or a deviation from the non-essential systems to the essential organ systems, thereby completely altering the body's natural resistance or endurance capacity. This is one of the primary medical reasons why younger children or pregnant or older individuals may not adjust or adapt well to sudden environmental changes.
What Are the Functional Stress Signs to Watch Out For?
Especially when a person is on a traveling spree, or vacations are of longer duration, these are the telltale signs that one needs to watch out for:
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Sudden heart palpitations.
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Feeling exhausted continuously.
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The feeling of agitation.
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Trembling or shaking while traveling to a new place.
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Sweaty palms.
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Queasy stomach feeling.
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Weak urinary bladder or a consistent sudden urge to pee.
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Sudden headaches.
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Feeling anxious.
How to Reduce the Risk of Leisure Sickness?
Some of the important healthcare tips given by experts, which can be implemented either while traveling or after traveling to a new place to prevent leisure sickness are given below.
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Walking or mild exercising can take functional stress signs and activate the endorphins or feel-good hormones in the system.
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Try mind-body relaxation therapies when feeling stressed during a vacation or traveling. These include meditation, short periods of yoga or deep breathing and relaxation techniques, guided mental imagery, progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), or even biofeedback.
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Avoid sudden dietary changes. Though this can be unavoidable when on extended vacations, one can always opt for fresh fruits or nuts, seeds, or healthy plant proteins when feeling queasy in the stomach.
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Try sanitizing your hands and washing your feet. By keeping hands and feet cleaner, there is less contamination through germ contact while traveling. Whether it is crowded train stations, airports, or public places of transport, sanitizing hands and washing feet can prevent bacterial contamination.
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Prioritize adequate rest. This is the most important factor to help one rejuvenate on a vacation. Sleeping at least seven to eight hours despite long travels and prioritizing time for self-relaxation or rest and recovery during vacations can alleviate functional stress signs faced with a change in environment or help ease environmental triggers.
Conclusion
By listening to the body’s functional stress cues and attending to them, a person will make travel or vacation a more hassle-free process. Even after taking a breath of fresh air one feels mentally distracted, then taking necessary prescription medications helps to counteract the stressful signs that persist during traveling or vacations. In high-risk population groups, it would always be ideal to have a physician's contact number or emergency helpline to manage these symptoms on time and prevent any traveling sickness or leisure sickness on vacations.
