Why you often get sick on vacation

In Croatia, it was party time: with nearly forty degrees fever, I lay on a scorching hotel room while my friends were causing chaos in the club 200 meters away. Totally sucks, you understand that. But I’ve gotten used to it by now. Every vacation, I’m off the radar for at least a day or two, and you can find me at the toilet instead of at the beach. Not from the hellish hangovers, nor from the air conditioning set to Arctic, but from the stress. How is it that we get sick from the pressure precisely on vacation?

Finally, you’ve left that overflowing inbox as it is, all group chats have been archived, and your laptop is completely off for the first time in a long time instead of on standby. The only concern you have now is where you all should go out to dinner tonight.

But all that stress from the past period is still in your body and needs to be released at some point, exactly when you have absolutely nothing on your mind. We call this the ‘Let Down Syndrome’: your immune system suddenly lets its guards down out of nowhere. Your body is suddenly no longer protected by all the extra adrenaline and cortisol. Quite remarkable, because this is what kept you from getting sick during all those stressful deadlines and never-ending to-do lists.

In other words: suddenly you become super susceptible to ailments and viruses. This is intensified when you’re lounging in a hammock while just last week you were typing away at your laptop with only three hours of sleep. The transition is just too big, and you want to avoid that.

How do you do that? Try to walk briskly for at least five minutes every day, challenge your brain by playing games and crossword puzzles, and for yoga lovers: meditation it is. It’s in the simple things, so if this is the solution for a carefree vacation, then you won’t hear me complain. I just need to find some extra space in my suitcase for a workout outfit. I usually prefer to leave that at home.