Five ways to make sure you feel refreshed after a holiday

Holidays are a time for rest, relaxation and improving well-being, and at the end of it we expect to return feeling revived and ready to take on the world.

 

There's one problem, though – while we might be away from the pressures of work and daily life, we can often become a lot less healthy when we are having a good time. 

 

Here are five ways to try and keep bad habits at bay, and come back looking and feeling like a radiant beam of good health.

Let's face it – alcohol consumption tends to rise on holiday. Whether it's moderate but continual drinking or big nights out, it's bound to be more than when we are at home.

 

In fact, a new report published this morning showing how the amount of wine consumed by British people each year is 12m bottles more than was previously thought, and that this is largely down to extra units drunk on holiday. 

 

To keep your intake down, avoid drinking more than three alcoholic drinks a night, or only drink on two out of three days. 

Tanning isn't worth it. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 42 per cent of us get sun burnt every year, yet getting burnt just five times in your lifetime doubles your risk of developing a melanoma, the most serious kind of skin cancer. 

 

By all means sunbathe, but make sure you're wearing high factor sun cream and that you take regular breaks in the shade. You should also avoid the sun when it's at it's peak around lunchtime. 

Dealing with drastic changes in sleep pattern can be bad for your body, and when you come back again you'll go through exactly the same thing again.

 

You can lessen the pain by easing yourself into it for a couple of nights before flying out and coming back – try going to bed an hour or two earlier or later, depending on where you're going, and you'll notice how much easier it is. 

Gelato, pizza, tapas, you name it: holidays are a time for indulging.

 

But the salads should come before the holiday, not on it – it would be a shame to deprive yourself of the things you enjoy during your time off. 

 

And don't forget the holiday food poisoning we're all likely to fall victim to every now and again. This can be avoided by choosing restaurants with a critical eye, not eating street food and only drinking bottled water. 

OK, you've managed to get away from an endless stream of work emails and demands, but with holidays come a whole new kind of stress – losing passports, catching planes and trains, not being swindled out of lots of money etc.

 

Just remember that at the end of the day, whatever it is that's causing you a problem now won;t be by the time you're home and back into the routine of things. It's a holiday and is there to be enjoyed, so give yourself a little leeway, and don't be too hard on yourself.