How long should a vacation last for us to truly relax?

When planning a holiday, one of the main things to consider is how long you’ll be going away for.

According to scientific research, published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, there is a perfect length of holiday time which has the maximum beneficial effect on one's health and well-being.
Researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, looked into this issue.

What is the perfect length, then? Longer than eight days, they says.

There were 54 participants taking part in the study, with a mean age of 42.5, all of them employed. The research focused on longer holidays – ranging from 15 to 34 days, with an average of 23 days. Scientists examined the psychological processes associated with such a long respite from work and how health and well-being developed during and after the holiday.

The volunteers all reported their health and well-being before, three or four times during, and five times after the holiday, based on six factors – health status, fatigue, satisfaction, mood, tension and energy level. The experiment found that health and well-being increased rapidly during holiday time, peaking on the eighth day. However, within one week of returning to work, health and well-being had returned to baseline level.

Health and well-being improved during long summer vacations, but this positive effect was short-lived.

If you want to get the most from your holiday and feel truly rested and rejuvenated, try to have a break for longer than eight days, and fill your time with pleasurable and relaxing experiences to boost your health and well-being.

vacation length

vacation

health impact of vacation length