One of my favourite things about holidays is the opportunity to focus on wellbeing. A couple of weeks away gives you plenty of time to stop and take stock.

Apart from the obvious break from the norm, what is it about holidays that boosts wellbeing?

This post reflects on the key factors for me and hopefully provides some insight into ensuring that momentum of self care continues beyond the holiday.

I hope these points give you some ideas too 🙂

Healthy eating / drinking

I ate more healthily and kept the alcohol to a minimum.

Before the holiday I’d actually had a six week break from alcohol. Probably one of the longest periods of abstinence I’ve had.

I knew I would drink on holiday. There’s not much else to do in the evening and you don’t want to be a party pooper. However, I did stick to just the one drink most nights, and never had more than two.

There’s also some great cafes with healthy alternatives to alcohol. The fruit smoothies in Cyprus are fab and are definitely something I can experiment with when I get back home.

Screentime

You’d think with more free time my screentime would go up on holiday.

It actually went down by 13%.

I still blogged regularly and checked social, but clearly not as much. I largely think this was due to the sunshine which made me want to get out and be more active.

Sunshine

Sadly there’s not a great deal I can do about the good old British weather, but I can definitely look into booking my next holiday as soon as I get home (hmmm, Skiathos beckons…). This will give me something to look forward to, at least.

Sunshine is such an enabler. I did far more exercise because of it. True, I did have more time, but I also had more incentive. It was a genuine tonic to be outside.

We are moving into the summer period though, so fingers crossed we get some nice weather in the UK!

Prevention!

Every day at the hotel there was an aqua aerobics class in the morning, which I attended. I rarely even go swimming when I’m at home. This was a lot of fun and focussed on muscle groups I have long neglected.

Before my holiday I had been seeing an acupuncturist. Back issues have had a major impact on my wellbeing this year and have stopped me from exercising.

After two weeks of aerobics my mobility has improved immensely. On top of the aerobics I found that I could do a swimming session too, a long walk, or even a run.

The aerobics reinforced two benefits:

1. Exercise is more fun with other people

2. You need to stretch regularly to reduce injury

On that first point, I intend to get back to parkruns, as I’ve been away for about six months due to my back problems.

On the second point, I’ve downloaded the stretching and flexibility: bend app to ensure I do my stretching every day.

I’m forever indebted to the wonderful aerobics instructor!

Do something different

At the end of the aerobics class the instructor put on a song and we followed along to some set dance moves in the water.

Anybody who knows me knows I’m not a dancer – two left feet and all that. I was dubious, but hey, I went along with it. It’s good to get out of your comfort zone and do something different, right?

I’m not saying I’m going to be a future contestant on Britain’s Got Talent, but I’ll certainly be more open to trying new things in future.

I’ll have to give this one some thought.