Vacations chase women’s blues away

Everyone loves a vacation. But a recent study shows that women who take frequent getaways suffer less stress and depression, and report greater marital satisfaction.

The study, published in Wisconsin Medical Journal, reported on research conducted over five years with a random sampling of 1,500 women.

Women who took infrequent vacations, either once every two years or once every six years, had higher incidence of depression and tension. The majority of women in the study took one vacation per year.

“Women who take vacations more often have more relaxed time with their spouses, not thinking about daily home stresses, and thus the opportunity to renew their relationships,” said Catherine A. McCarthy, Ph.D., from the Center for Human Genetics at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation in Wisconsin.