leisure sickness

noun

A phenomenon when people, often high-achievers or workaholics, develop flu-like symptoms (headaches, fatigue, body aches, nausea) at the start of weekends or vacations because their bodies, used to high stress, relax and become vulnerable to illness, or because stress hormones drop, weakening the immune system.

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Meanings

nounleisure sickness (plural leisure sicknesses)

plural leisure sicknesses

  1. A phenomenon when people, often high-achievers or workaholics, develop flu-like symptoms (headaches, fatigue, body aches, nausea) at the start of weekends or vacations because their bodies, used to high stress, relax and become vulnerable to illness, or because stress hormones drop, weakening the immune system.
Cite this entry
APA

leisure sickness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leisure%20sickness

MLA

“leisure sickness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leisure%20sickness. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leisure sickness,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leisure%20sickness.

Source: leisure sickness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.