Wellness Vacation

Well-being Offers for your Getaway from Everyday Life

For Ayurveda doctor Dr. Shetty, yoga on the beach is important for a feeling of well-being - but soccer has also become, © TMV/Mirko Boy

Wellness Vacation

Well-being Offers for your Getaway from Everyday Life

Ever since more than 200 years ago the first seaside resort in continental Europe was founded in Heiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Baltic region has been regarded as a place to go and restore strength to your body, mind and soul. Today, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern attracts visitors from all over the world with traditional healing arts specific to this region.

Ever since more than 200 years ago the first seaside resort in continental Europe was founded in Heiligendamm, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Baltic region has been regarded as a place to go and restore strength to your body, mind and soul. Today, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern attracts visitors from all over the world with traditional healing arts specific to this region.

Recovery is in the air; the sea breeze enriches it with iodine and trace elements and frees it from allergens. In addition, there are clear waters, pristine nature and above-average amount of hours filled with sunshine. Even a short walk along the Baltic Sea or through the idyllic inland is a small vacation for body and soul in itself.

The selection of hotels with wellness offers ranges from the family pension in country house style with its own lake to the castle hotel with spa and gourmet cuisine. Especially the beach resorts with their Baltic seaside architecture attract guests from all over the world. In addition, there are noble health resorts and state-of-the-art facilities in the recognised health and recreation resorts situated between the Baltic Sea and the Lake District.

Wellness Hotels between the Baltic Sea and the Lake District

The health resorts entice guests with extensive wellness areas, which they modernise at regular intervals, offering a wide range of services from which their guests can freely choose according to their specific needs. But the term wellness, composed of well-being, happiness and good physical condition - is not a trademarked or official label. To be sure that wellness offers in a certain establishment are legitimate, many establishments between the Baltic Sea and the Lake District undergo regular quality inspections to become certified wellness places.

Wellness certificate

The German Wellness Association helps navigate the visitors of the region to find the most reliable and authentic wellness offer by providing a wellness certificate with a time-limited test seal. Resorts awarded with this seal meet the strict standards of quality proven in rigorous and repeating tests, assuring that the health tourists get only the best services. Particular emphasis is placed on hospitality and service quality, healthy food and beverage offerings, a modern spa and wellness area, qualified professionals, health-promoting wellness offerings and environmentally conscious management. The hotels awarded with one of the wellness certificates can be found here.

The “Wellness Tree” Quality Seal

This quality seal of cooperation of selected wellness hotels & resorts in Germany vouches for the quality of the wellness offers in the segment of the exclusive four to five-star houses. The trademark guarantees, among other things, a quiet location in pristine nature, attractive spa areas, well-educated and trained staff, original cuisine, varied cultural and adventure offers and the sustainable use of energy resources. The hotels awarded with the Wellness Tree can be found on the website of the associated hotels.

Ayurveda on the island of Rügen

In the Grand Hotel on the beach promenade of the Baltic Sea resort of Binz, the Indian and Ayurvedic doctor Raghavendra Shetty practices authentic Ayurveda as it is done in India. He treats stress issues, often caused by burnout, and relaxes tense muscles by providing warm oil massages. Dr. Shetty is convinced that this art of healing can be exported to the other end of the world and is proving the success of it on a daily basis.

 

Achieving Inner Balance with Natural Therapies

Climatherapy

Climatherapy involves deliberate exposure to the stimulating climate and provides not only relaxation, but also has a holistic effect on those in treatment. Aerosols of the sea, wind and solar radiation are the natural effective factors. Climatherapy depends on the change of stimulus we experience in any given climate. The climatic surroundings we are exposed to provide ways to cure issues and have varying effects on your body depending on the climate you are exposed to. On the beach, you should take it easy, start with a walk and not overexert yourself on subsequent hikes. Other elements of climatic therapy are fresh air reclining cure and heliotherapy (sun therapy).

Thalasso

Thalasso is understood as a combination of elements of climatherapy with the addition of beneficial applications of the sea. This preventive and health-promoting therapy uses cold or warm seawater, sea air, sun, algae and sand. Possible forms of application are balneotherapy (bathing in seawater), wraps with seawater, algae or mud, and water gymnastics. In the case of a thalassotherapy cure, the spa doctor determines individually which applications will have a positive effect on sleep disorders, for example.

Forest bath

The idea of the forest as a place of therapy originates from Asia. Japanese scientists proved in several studies that spending time in the forest acts like aromatherapy and has a positive effect on many parts of our body. Among other things, so-called "forest bathing" reduces stress hormones and is one of the recognised stress management methods in Japan. The essential oils present in the forest air help to strengthen the immune system. Even short walks in the forest are relaxing. In the healing forests of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, there are also exercise trails and climate therapists offer guided hikes to visitors.

 

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Interview with Barbara Hortian, M.D.

When stress, life crises or fears lead to sleep disorders, the inner balance easily gets out of joint. A relaxing vacation at the Baltic Sea helps to strengthen the well-being.

"Sleep is healthy," as the saying goes. Can this be proven from a scientific point of view?

Barbara Hortian, MD: Yes. In recent years, sleep researchers have demonstrated in numerous studies that the brain, psyche and the entire organism regenerate during sleep. During sleep, the body and brain by no means shut down completely, but rather a highly complex process takes place. During the night, humans go through four to five such sleep cycles, each lasting about 90 minutes. The first light sleep is followed by a deep sleep phase. This is followed by another light sleep phase with dream experiences, which we call REM sleep. It is primarily during deep sleep and REM sleep that physical, mental and psychological regeneration takes place.

What happens during the different sleep phases?

Dr. med. Barbara Hortian: During deep sleep, the organism reduces its need for sleep and releases a large number of hormones (especially known: the growth hormone), which are essential for cell repair and the immune system. In the process, the entire organism regenerates. The REM sleep phase organizes and processes information absorbed the day before and the body's own emotions, so that the unimportant is forgotten and the essential is stored in memory. REM sleep is therefore of great importance for mental stability.

Why do we get tired?

Barbara Hortian, MD: Like many other processes that take place in the body, this rhythm is also controlled by certain hormones. In the evening and at night, our body produces the "sleep hormone" melatonin in the pineal gland (epiphysis) of the brain - but only in the dark. Thanks to this hormone, we tire out and sink into a relaxed sleep. In addition, the release of melatonin lowers body temperature, pulse rate and breathing frequency. Our "inner clock" is also closely related to this: Where the optic nerves cross behind the forehead is the so-called nucleus suprachiasmaticus, a nerve node that controls the natural sleep-wake rhythm according to the incidence of light. If the retina registers that it is getting light again, melatonin production stops and we wake up.

So it is up to each individual to get a good night's sleep?

Barbara Hortian, MD: Of course there are sleep disorders with deeper causes. But basically, healthy sleep requires self-discipline. For example, do you really have to sit in front of the computer until late at night? Do you need to be constantly available in the bedroom via smartphone or with the TV on? Anyone who struggles with sleep problems or doesn't get out of bed in the morning feeling refreshed should ask themselves questions like these. Sleep is not a necessary evil, but contributes decisively to inner balance and health.

How much sleep does a person need?

Dr. med. Barbara Hortian: The unconditional fixation on a daily minimum sleep time and a quasi "forcing" of sleep is often very counterproductive. Not everyone necessarily needs six to eight hours of sleep; there is a great deal of variability. In old age, for example, you don't necessarily need less sleep, but your sleep breaks down into several episodes - just like in a toddler. So I wouldn't necessarily want to talk older people out of taking a nap. However, they should not expect to be able to sleep from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. at night. It would be beneficial to go to bed later or not to be disappointed to wake up "with the chickens". And surely everyone remembers what it was like to be young and in love: Didn't you sometimes have a very short sleep time and still - so full of positive feelings - managed your daily workload well?

Sleep as an important contribution to health ...?

Barbara Hortian, MD: We know that there is a connection between poor sleep and various diseases. It has been proven that there is a close correlation between sleep disorders and depression as a late consequence. Conversely, a sleep disorder can also be the first symptom of an incipient depression. The hormonal processes during sleep, which were only hinted at in the beginning, are actually much more complex. If there are deficits or disturbances here, this can promote the development of obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. Last but not least, too little or too restless sleep weakens the immune system, which in turn can result in a higher susceptibility to infections. If we consider the important influence of sleep on the psyche, it is also obvious that a person who is permanently unslept is not really fit and capable of making decisions - this is certainly not doing oneself any favors in everyday and professional life.

Where to go with sleep problems?

Dr. med. Barbara Hortian: First, of course, to the family doctor, where previous illnesses and lifestyle are known. If psychological stress, illnesses or medication can be ruled out as the cause of the sleep problems and no explanations can be found even with further diagnostics, there will be a referral to a specialist. Before that, however, a consultation on sleep hygiene should have taken place: Is my sleeping place quiet, cool enough, darkened and has a comfortable mattress? Do I not eat heavy meals in the evening? Do I end the day quietly and gradually? Do I regularly observe certain sleep rituals? Also, avoid great physical exertion or emotionally stressful situations immediately before bedtime. By the way, listening to audiobooks is an effective tool for banishing bad thoughts during long periods of wakefulness at night.

 

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