Why Coaches Get Sick After Vacation: The Leisure Sickness Effect and How to Beat It This September
I (Daniel Olexa) took two weeks off. Fully unplugged, no work, no meetings, no momentum to maintain. I slowed down long enough to finally exhale.
And then I got sick.
Not just a little rundown. I was body-shut-down, immune-system-in-revolt sick. The timing was almost laughable, two weeks of rest, only to be greeted on the flight home with the full force of exhaustion and illness.
I realized my system had been running on overdrive longer than I wanted to admit. When I finally gave it space to pause, everything I had been overriding came flooding back. It wasn’t the graceful reset I had imagined, but it was real.
And that’s when it hit me: this isn’t just about me. Many of us, especially coaches, experience this. It even has a name: leisure sickness.
When Rest Feels Like Collapse
We often imagine rest will refill us, that the long-awaited vacation will be a clean reset. But sometimes rest doesn’t feel restorative, it feels like unraveling.
Here’s the paradox. When you have been carrying more tension than you realize, putting it down can feel less like relief and more like collapse.
As coaches, we recognize this pattern in clients. Yet when it appears in our own bodies, it humbles us. It reminds us that resilience is not built by pushing through alone but by listening to the quiet whispers of fatigue before they become a roar.
If you live by the mantra and myth, “I’m too busy to get sick. I have too much to do.” (like I did), your body will absolutely force you to recharge as soon as you give yourself a break.
The Science of Leisure Sickness
Psychologists call this the let-down effect. When we’re in work mode, adrenaline and cortisol keep our bodies alert, focused, and pushing forward, often beyond what is sustainable.
When the pressure lifts, our nervous system finally shifts. That is when our immune system, no longer suppressed, catches up and reveals the vulnerabilities we’ve been overriding.
Research by Dutch psychologist Ad Vingerhoets found that about 3% of people experience leisure sickness—symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, muscle pain, nausea, and flu-like illness during weekends or vacations (PubMed). The condition is most common among high achievers, perfectionists, and those who struggle to switch off (Verywell Health).
Why September Feels Especially Tough
September isn’t just a month; it’s a transitional wave.
Respiratory viruses like rhinovirus, the most common cause of the common cold, become more prevalent in the early autumn. Studies confirm these seasonal surges create what doctors often call the “September epidemic” (NIH/PMC).
Routines restart, schools reopen, offices get busier, travel exposure resumes, and our post-vacation immune dips often coincide with increased viral circulation. For coaches, this means jumping back into client sessions just as our systems are most fragile.
Why Coaches Are Especially Vulnerable
We live in the tension of two worlds.
The outer world of service, where we hold space, track progress, and stay deeply attuned to our clients.
The inner world of self, where responsibility, perfectionism, and hidden stress quietly accumulate.
And we live with the reality of wearing multiple hats: coach, entrepreneur, parent, spouse, and more. Each layer compounds the perception that our story of busyness is appropriate and true… because no one else is going to get it done.
When we step away, the silence exposes how much we’ve been carrying. The pause is both necessary and disruptive. It’s no wonder many of us fall ill just as September arrives.
Internal Coaching: Practicing What We Preach
If a client said they would sprint through work until vacation, ignore their body’s signals, then expect two weeks of rest to fix it all… we would see the problem immediately.
Yet for ourselves, we often need to coach inward. To pause long enough to notice subtle patterns. To ask questions that reframe how we approach transitions.
Some of the questions we’ve held at MCXI Institute:
What would it look like if I gave myself the same compassion I extend to my clients?
What "musts" can I release to allow true rest?
How might I create a softer landing after vacation instead of a crash?
Practical Ways to Protect Your Health This September
Before Vacation: Create a Buffer Zone
Finish projects early so you don’t sprint into your break. Wind down your nervous system gradually rather than flipping off overnight.
During Vacation: Rest That Restores
Allow space for stillness, not just activity. Keep basic rhythms of hydration, movement, and sleep intact.
After Vacation: Rebuild With Care
Plan a transition week instead of filling your calendar immediately. Prioritize sleep and nourishing foods. Hold a posture of compassion, your body is not failing you. It is recalibrating.
Downloadable Checklist: How Coaches Can Protect Their Health Before, During, and After Vacation
To make this easy, we’ve put together a simple checklist you can keep on hand for your next vacation. It’s designed to help you transition smoothly, avoid the let-down effect, and step into September with resilience.
Pre-Vacation
Wrap up projects early
Block “buffer days” to downshift
Communicate clear boundaries
Hydrate and adjust sleep
During Vacation
Schedule true downtime
Stay hydrated and nourished
Include gentle movement
Allow digital detox time
Post-Vacation
Give yourself a transition day
Prioritize consistent sleep
Ease back into exercise
Reflect on what patterns to shift
Respond to fatigue with compassion
📥 [Download the MCXI Vacation Checklist here]
FAQs: Understanding Leisure Sickness and Coaching Wellness
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It may not be an official medical diagnosis, but multiple studies, including the original by Vingerhoets, support its validity (PubMed).
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Because viral circulation and immune dips coincide as routines resume, creating a perfect storm for post-vacation illness (NIH/PMC).
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Yes. Our work involves emotional labor, high performance, and perfectionism, all of which increase risk.
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Not always. But pacing transitions, maintaining healthy routines, mindfulness, and self-compassion significantly reduce the chances (Verywell Health).
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Rest. Don’t view recovery as a setback, it is part of the reset and essential to long-term resilience.
Further Reading
If you would like to explore leisure sickness from a traveler’s perspective, Condé Nast Traveler recently published an accessible piece on how to stay healthy on vacation. You can read it here.
Conclusion: From Breaking Down to Breaking Through
At MCXI Institute, we view leisure sickness as more than an inconvenience. It is a mirror.
When illness follows rest, it reveals how long we’ve carried tension unseen. It humbles us, reminding us that resilience isn’t built only in the doing but in the being.
If you find yourself this September raw and rattled after a pause, you’re not broken. You’re not behind. You’re simply human.
And in that humanity lies your capacity to coach yourself with the same grace you offer others, making September not just a season of viruses, but a season of deeper resilience.
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