International Women's Day: How Does Leisure Impact One's Mental Health And Why Must Women Prioritise It?

A recent study revealed that people who think that leisure is a 'waste of time', experienced higher levels of depression, stress and anxiety. On International Women's Day, we are here to remind women to take breaks and focus on themselves.

Happy International Women's day to all the queens out there. This is not just a day for wishing each other, it is a day to remind the world of women's value and rights. No, we are not only talking about fundamental rights, we are also talking about the right of women to take care of there health, the right of women to experience leisure time, the right of women to take a day off for mental health. We live in a capitalist world where our 9 to 5 is packed with work and deadlines which most of the time gets spilled over to more than 9 hours of daily work. Majority of women working in corporate sectors work for more than 10 hours every day and then come back home to also do domestic chores. This is not only incredibly difficult to balance but also could lead to burnout. There should be a better system and on International Women's Day, we women should learn how to prioritise health over hustling.

Why Is It Important For Women To Prioritise Leisure Time?

A recent analysis conducted by the Journal PsychologyToday revealed that, people who lived with the mindset that ' leisure is a waste of time' experienced higher levels of anxiety, stress, depression and burnout than compared to people who valued leisure time.

The definition of leisure does not mean overscheduling yourself with household chores or helping you partner or husband with family work or helping out you own parents with their work. These are called responsibilities but they do not fall under leisure. Leisure time should be only reserved for you, so that you get to pamper yourself. Why is it important for you mental health? Here's the answer:

1. Reduces Risk Of Depression: If you have no time to yourself, eventually you will be at risk of depression. When a person is caught up in a monotonous and toxic cycle of work, he or she may start to feel alone and hopeless. These emotions slowly bring in the risk of depression and sadness.
2. Decreases Symptoms Of Anxiety: Doing things that you love at your leisure time will help you deal with anxiety and may even help you get rid of it altogether. The tricks are exercise, diet, meditation, vacation, healthy hobbies, etc.
3. Helps Cope With Stress: A little ME TIME can automatically help you reduce stress levels. Activities other than chores and responsibilities will make you happy and this will reduce stress.
4. Prevent Burnout: Burnout is a serious health problems and the only solution to it is to take breaks and focus on getting the rest that you need. Burnout can also lead to depression and other serious mental health problems.

How Does It Benefit Your Physical Health

Stress has become one of the main culprit of numerous diseases like insomnia, inflammatory diseases, auto-immune diseases, hypertension and heart diseases, etc. Less amount of stress, tension and anxiety will keep your cortisol levels balanced thereby keeping your overall health in check. When you are happy and content, your heart rate will also be normal and regulated thus preventing many heart related disorders. Leisure hours will also help you focus on your diet, exercise both of which can prevent numerous diseases.