There is always a reason not to: the dishes, the chores, you’re exhausted, the kids.But now more than ever us mums need to prioritise ourselves every once in a while.

In my opinion, a happy mum is a happy household. A doctor once said to me, “nobody in this world can do a job 24/7 and that includes being a mum”. She was right. You physically and emotionally cannot be at your best 24/7. We need the odd break to recharge.

Research also supports that taking a trip with your friends can actually improve your mental health and long-term happiness, and as parents, we know that maintaining mental wellness is more important, albeit more challenging, than ever.

A 2010 meta-analysis looked at data on more than 308,000 people in 148 studies and found that there’s a big connection between lifespan and social relationships.

So ladies, gather your girls, inform your partner, pack your bags, and get away! All in the name of science, of course!

A 2015 study, which looked at the data of more than 3.4 million people in 70 studies, found that a lack of social connections has the same health risk as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. 

In this day and age, a lot of our contact with the outside world is through social media. Our parenting groups and most of our mum friends are all at the other end of a screen.

Although this support is helpful and can help mums feel less isolated, experts say there is nothing more beneficial than meeting somebody face to face. Evidence has actually shown that actual and perceived social isolation are both associated with increased risk of early mortality.

In 2016, researchers found evidence that spending time out and about with friends, which they call "peaceful associations," increases the production of oxytocin, the hormone that floods our bodies when we're happy. The love hormone as its rightly named.

Oxytocin also plays a role in the birthing process, baby bonding, and milk production, so us mums need all of that magical love hormone that we can get!

Oxytocin is released during positive social bonding experiences (cough cough, girls trip!) and can make people more trusting, generous, and friendly. Expectedly, it also serves as a great antidote for anxiety and depression, and it plays an important role in having great intimate pleasure. You can thank us later!