Abstract
The Western 24 h society poses great psychological and physical demands on people, which may result in complaints such as stress or being overworked, and reduced immune fitness. Having a holiday may be a good way to reduce work-related stress and reduced mood and improve perceived immune fitness. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to assess the impact of having a holiday or work on perceived immune fitness and mood. A survey was held among N = 246 young adults who were on holiday in Fiji, and N = 87 subjects who were in Fiji for work. The sample comprised both students and individuals with a job at home. Past year immune status was assessed with the Immune Status Questionnaire (ISQ). Current perceived immune functioning and mood were rated from 0 (very poor) to 10 (excellent). Assessments were made for two occasions: (1) the current situation (in Fiji), and (2) at home (before traveling). Compared to being at home, both students and working individuals on holiday in Fiji reported significantly improved immune fitness and significantly improved mood. For example, both groups reported reduction of stress of about 60% while in Fiji. In students who came to Fiji for work or spending a holiday, improvements in perceived immune fitness were more pronounced than in working people coming on holiday in Fiji. In contrast, working people on holiday reported greater improvements in mood compared to students. The magnitude of improvements were significantly greater among women than men. In conclusion, the data suggest that both having a holiday or working in Fiji is associated with significant improvements of mood, which were themselves associated with improved immune fitness. The findings are of importance for the tourism industry as they demonstrate that, in addition to leisure (or being active) as a purpose for having a holiday, the observed mental health benefits and improved perceived immune fitness provide an additional motive to have a holiday.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 95-112 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Tourism and Hospitality |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021 by the authors.
Funding
A.D.K. has received grants/research support from Top Institute Pharma, NWO, Janssen, GSK, Nutricia Research, and Friesland Campina. A.S. has held research grants from Abbott Nutrition, Arla Foods, Bayer Healthcare, Cognis, Cyvex, GlaxoSmithKline, Naturex, Nestle, Martek, Masterfoods, Wrigley, and has acted as a consultant/expert advisor to Abbott Nutrition, Barilla, Bayer Healthcare, Danone, Flordis, GlaxoSmithKline Healthcare, Masterfoods, Martek, Novartis, Unilever, and Wrigley. J.G. is part-time employee of Nutricia Research and received research grants from Nutricia research foundation, Top Institute Pharma, Top Institute Food and Nutrition, GSK, STW, NWO, Friesland Campina, CCC, Raak-Pro, and EU. Over the past 3 years, J.C.V. has received grants/research support from Janssen Research and Development and Sequential Medicine, and has acted as a consultant/advisor for More Labs, Red Bull, Sen-Jam Pharmaceutical, Toast!, Tomo, and ZBiotics. The other authors declare no conflicts of interest.
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Friesland Campina | |
| Nutricia Research | |
| Top Institute Food and Nutrition | |
| GlaxoSmithKline | |
| European Commission | |
| Nutricia Research Foundation | |
| Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek | |
| Stichting voor de Technische Wetenschappen | |
| Top Institute Pharma | |
| Childhood Cancer Canada |
Keywords
- Fiji
- holiday
- immune functioning
- mood
- stress
- vacation
- work
