Losing your sense of humour, bingeing on comfort food and being unable to sleep through the night are all signs you need a holiday, according to a new study.
Getting more angry than usual when held up in a queue, losing your temper with colleagues or clients at work and hitting the snooze button more than usual are also tell-tale signs.
Forgetting people’s names even though you know them well, misplacing keys and missing a loved one’s birthday also made the list.
Unsurprisingly, the research commissioned by Grace Say Aloe – the brand behind the popular aloe vera drink – shows getting fed up with friend’s holiday pictures being plastered all over social media is another indicator that it’s time for a holiday.
For more than a third of us, the biggest signifier that a break is much needed is that little problems will start to feel massive, while a fifth of those polled claim spending way too long staring at the phone is a sign.
It also emerged the average adult needs FOUR breaks during the typical year.
Creativity and empowerment coach, Kate Taylor, says: “We might be nearing the end of the summer holiday season, but as the research by Grace Say Aloe shows, many of us need those regular breaks in order to maintain positivity and productiveness all year round.
“Sometimes it isn’t a full holiday that is needed, but just a little bit of time to break out from our daily routines, to rebalance and reboot. Even some time away from our mobile phones is all it takes to switch off.
“Many people find they suffer from low energy and tiredness if they work for very long periods of time without taking the time to reboot.”
The study shows the average person typically starts to need another holiday just 42 days after returning from a break away.
At this point, one in ten will start to swear more than usual and almost a quarter will put up with a messy house as they can’t be bothered to tidy.
Being unable to get out of bed in the morning and not being able to face the to-do list also feature in the top 20, as does yawning more, not being able to muster the energy for small talk and oversleeping.
Eight in 10 people say they need regular breaks in order to stay happy, healthy and positive, and as such, the average person says they won’t work longer than 70 days without some sort of rest.
But for those who are unable to get the breaks or holidays they need, almost half notice they are more tired than usual, a fifth start to make silly mistakes at work and a third are less enthusiastic about work.
When away from work and routine, three in five people most enjoy getting away from normality, while half like the feeling of being refreshed and revitalised.
Money is the biggest reason people don’t book more break (64 per cent), followed by workload for 32 per cent of people.
For those who can’t go on holiday very often, 29 per cent ‘reboot’ by visiting friends and family, 12 per cent switch off their phones and one in 10 meditate.
Kate Taylor continues: “It makes sense that by re-booting your normality, even if it’s only a slight change to your routines, you can reap the benefits.
“Like the research shows, the smallest of problems can seem massive at times, but if you flip this on its head, sometimes even the simplest of changes can make a big impact on our wellbeing.
“In a world of getting stuck in routine patterns and the humdrum of the ordinary, sometimes doing something a little different, like drinking Grace Say Aloe, can help provide a mini moment of escapism.”
TOP 20 SIGNS YOU NEED A HOLIDAY
1. Little problems seem massive
2. You can’t remember the last time you took a break
3. People keep telling you that you look tired
4. You lose your sense of humour
5. The house is messy but you can’t be bothered to tidy it
6. You can’t get out of bed in the morning
7. You can’t face your to-do list
8. You struggle to sleep through the night
9. You eat more comfort food
10. You get more angry than usual when you are held up in a queue
11. You yawn more often
12. You enter a room and can’t remember what you went into there for
13. Spending more time daydreaming than doing your actual day job
14. You can no longer muster the will to make small talk at work
15. You swear more than usual
16. You lose your temper with colleagues or clients at work
17. You hit snooze more than usual
18. You are fed up of seeing friends’ holiday pictures on social media
19. You find yourself looking over old travel pictures over and over again
20. You oversleep more than once a week
ENDS
