Leisure Sickness

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Image by Gino Crescoli from Pixabay

The eldest, back on holiday from New Zealand succumbed to a flu-like virus then throat infection necessitating antibiotics a few days after landing in the UK. He has been rather ill and now Mister E appears to be suffering from many of the same symptoms. Man flu is always awful to be around but this is worse, far worse: it would floor a woman too!

Illness is a nasty intrusion on a vacation but, from my own worktime experience, far from uncommon. I used to think that when I was dashing around pretending to be Super Woman the germs couldn't catch up with me. Immediately I sat down on that aeroplane or deck chair, however, they seized their opportunity and pounced. 

Apparently there is actually some truth in my analysis and scientists have named the experience Leisure Sickness, although as yet its existence is only a hypothesis. When we exert ourselves in the workplace or even stress over the preparations for a holiday, do we produce so much adrenaline that it results in a weakened immune system making us more vulnerable to viruses and infections especially when we travel in close proximity to other passengers?

The air conditioning on planes frequently receives a bad press, although I understand that it is not the case that it spreads germs. Rather it dries the air affecting the mucus in our nose too and so deprives us of an extra layer of protection.  

I can't help loving the fact that there is invariably a rational reason for everything, if you can find it. Mind you, I'm not sure there's a scientific explanation for why I blighted two skiing trips, the first by breaking an ankle the week before our departure and the second by spraining the other ankle at the airport on our outgoing journey. I think I'll leave those to ponder about on another day.

Instead, I'm conscious that it's not so long ago that I was concerned that in retirement I seemed to be capitulating to debilitating viruses in a way that would have been implausible when I went for years on end without taking sick leave from work. Is retirement a bigger pit for Leisure Sickness than a holiday trip? Can a lifetime of adrenaline fuelled labour result in a retirement of pain and fatigue?

Fortunately scientists (Resilience: A Silver Lining to Experiencing Adverse Life Events) believe that there is evidence to demonstrate that stress can actually be beneficial for health as it helps to engender resilience and, whilst too much stress and adrenaline can break us, like exercise, a little and often can apparently boost our mental and physical health for the longer term.

Touch wood and having had a flu injection last autumn, I have not been stricken since. However, rather than seeking to enjoy a stress-free retirement lifestyle, should I now be actively seeking out adrenaline charged activity to help maintain my resilience? What a conundrum!

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