The weekend BUG

Have you been falling ill too often on weekends and on holidays? You might have leisure sickness

When 24-year-old accountant Eshaan Grover came to Delhi for a holiday after a stressful two months of work in Sydney, the last thing he expected was to fall ill. 8220;I was fine when I landed in Delhi but the next day I had a terrible headache. I thought I was jet-lagged and slept the first day but it just got worse. I ended up getting a fever and a terrible cold,8221; he says. All of 20, Smriti Sinha, an event manager in Delhi, works 14 hours a day and guzzles 10-12 cups of coffee daily to keep her going. Weekends, however, are a nightmare. 8220;I get severe migraine attacks on Saturday-Sunday when I keep off coffee,8221; she says.

If you too have been falling ill when you should be enjoying your holiday or your weekend, take note. 8220;Becoming unwell on a holiday is a new trend. And it8217;s surfacing among those who overwork themselves,8221; says Dr Gulab Chand Gupta, senior consultant, internal medicine, Fortis. nbsp;Worldwide, too, you have a name for this periodic breakdown8212;leisure sickness. A survey of 1,800 people carried out at Tilburg University, Netherlands, showed that 3 per cent suffered from leisure sickness. The research also found that perfectionists and those who take professional responsibilities seriously, leaving little time for leisure while at work, were more prone to the illness.

8220;When we are overworked our brain tends to get extremely stressed. So if our energy levels fall suddenly on weekends and holidays, our body does not know how to react to the change and we fall ill,8221; says Dr Gupta. The symptoms of leisure sickness include nausea, fever, cold and migraine. 8220;The most common is headache. Because we feel so overworked during the week, we deprive ourselves of sleep, don8217;t eat properly and resort to energy drinks and coffee to keep us going. However, we get a headache later when the work comes to a halt,8221; says psychologist Samir Parikh.

If you are the kinds to carry work home, you are bound to be more susceptible, says Dr Parikh. While on a holiday, it8217;s important that you watch what you eat. 8220;Don8217;t eat too much junk food. Your diet should contain lots of fruits and vegetables. It is important to pack in the necessary vitamins,8221; says nutritionist Shikha Sharma. Also, when your body tells you to slow down, listen. Take it easy when you are holidaying. Instead of going overboard on shopping and sightseeing, spend the first couple of days relaxing. 8220;The point is to not feel stressed on your holiday. It8217;s your time off from all the mental exhaustion,8221; says Dr Parikh. nbsp;

Fatigue is not the only reason for falling ill during a break. 8220;Those who work out a lot during the week and then don8217;t exercise at all during the weekend tend to get muscular pain,8221; says fitness expert Leena Mogre. Not only do your muscles become sore when you stop exercising all together, you also lose out on stamina when you finally get back to working out.

The trick is to exercise a little always. 8220;You can go for a brisk walk if you don8217;t feel like doing strenuous exercise,8221; says Mogre.
The bottomline: don8217;t let work swallow your leisure. It8217;s not worth it.