It’s happened again.
Another exhausted pastor who needs a holiday more than I need to eat ice cream on a hot summer’s day.
In the last 7 years, I’ve conducted over 100 church health consults and there have been recurring themes in these consults.
One of those themes is the inability of pastors to take holidays.
I find pastors accumulate numerous weeks of holiday time. While this is a financial liability to their church, this poses a far greater risk to their wellbeing and the health of their family.
3 Physical Reasons Pastors Must Take Regular Holidays
Prevent heart disease
The 2010 Framingham Heart Study revealed that men who took regular holidays were more than 32% less likely to die from a heart attack. That percentage moves to 50% for women. Refusing to take holidays diminishes your physical health.
Reduce stress load
An American Psychological Association 2015 study discovered that stress is lowered when a person escapes their workday environment. I think common sense will tell you the same thing. A small University of Vienna study discovered that people’s health improved after taking holidays. Workers had fewer stress-related physical complaints such as headaches and back pain. Remarkably, they still felt better five weeks later.
Improved sleep
People relax on holidays as they change their pace and engage with different activities. The change of pace often combined with increased fresh air lends itself to better sleep patterns which in turn produces improved health.
