Contrary to popular belief, the dog days did not get their nickname from the tendency of our pets to chill out in the summer heat. They were actually so named due to the relationship between the sun and the “dog star” Sirius, between July and September. Whether we think of the dog days in terms of constellations or canine companions, however, we do well to think of them as a time for rest.
We Americans are notoriously remiss in finding time to rest. We are especially bad at vacationing. In contrast to the Japanese, who take five weeks, the Germans, who take seven, and the Italians, who take eight and a half weeks off yearly, Americans vacation for only 12.4 days each year.
This lack of vacation time has a direct impact on our health. A review of vacation-related research found:
• Men who take vacations every year reduce their overall risk of death by about 20%, and their risk of death from heart disease by as much as 30%;
• Women who took vacations very infrequently (defined as once every six years or less often) had eight times the risk of either having a heart attack or dying of heart disease, and;
• People tend to sleep better after more than a week off, have fewer physical complaints than they did before the break and report being more optimistic and energetic than they were before.
Thus, somewhat counter-intuitively, we need to stop what we are doing in order to keep doing it.
Obviously there are problems with taking time off. If we are self-employed, it costs us money. If we are not, it costs our employers money. It also interferes with our ability to get our work done, causing a backlog of tasks that we must then attack when we return or forcing us to ask others to step in for us. These are realities.
On the back side, however, not taking a vacation is expensive as well. It compromises our creativity and productivity. It leads to increased healthcare costs and a decreased life span. Finally, it can cause us to enjoy our existence far less.
In the face of the dwindling time to enjoy our existence, a website I visited recently suggested that we simply take our vacations in daily 20 minute blocks, scheduling meditation into this time. While I couldn’t agree more with the idea of regular relaxation-oriented exercises, it just isn’t enough. The studies are unequivocal. We need prolonged time off.
So, follow the advice of the constellations, and the example of your canine companion this August: schedule the time to power down. Then find a breezy spot near a window and celebrate the dog days.
Dr. Lisa Belisle is a family physician and advisor for the MaineHealth Learning Resource Centers. She practices medical acupuncture and celebrates the dog days in Yarmouth, where she lives with her husband and three children.