Why do we feel so great on holidays?
A week ago, I was in Corfu, enjoying the book "Why We Die” by Venki Ramakrishnan, while sunbathing (with SPF 50 of course) and sipping a freddo cappuccinoI was loving every single minute of it! As many of you, holidaying is one of my favourite activities to do, it brings me so much joy, while at the same time relaxing me and I feel like the most chilled and up-for-anything version of myself. Also, one of my best memories from my childhood is going on summer holidays with my parents. We used to drive to Greece, and as soon as we crossed the border they transformed into fun and cool parents who never argued and were always up for making sand castles with me.
This got me wondering - why do we feel so great on holiday?
There’s research that shows that travelling abroad offers various benefits for our wellbeing:
They can make us more creative(1)
Give us a new perspective and motivation boost(2)
Increase cognitive flexibility by exposing your brain to new environments, diverse sights, and unique smells. This stimulates the formation of new neural pathways, fosters cultural awareness, and contributes to personal growth1
Help us in accepting our discomfort, giving us more mental strength and enhancing our emotional agility, by going to unexplored places and figuring out how to get around, communicate in a foreign language, do something new every day will make us more confident to adapt to unknown and changing circumstances(3)
Makes us happier(4)
No wonder why we feel amazing when we travel. Especially that pre-trip excitement, nothing compares to the anticipation of going to your favourite place, or a new tropical island or on a long spring hike.
But what about that post-holiday blues?
Coming back to grey, wet and cold Aberdeen after spending 10 days in glorious sunshines hit me hard. Luckily it was the weekend and I didn't need to do much. According to a meta-analysis on post-travel health, the effect on happiness is short lived, as most holidayers have their real-life obligations to return to.(5) However, there is hope. If the trip is relaxing enough and gives us the opportunity to properly distress, our post-travel happiness could linger for longer.(4)
My view is that things are more complicated than that. The post-holiday happiness will dependent on how drastic the change in climate is, how much you like your work and colleagues, in what state did you leave your house before going on the trip, did you give yourself an extra day to unpack, do food shopping and mentally prepare for the tasks that are ahead of you.
How can healthy habits help?
Here are my 5 healthy habits tips that can support you having a more relaxed holiday, allowing yourself to let go and extending that post-trip happiness:
Turn off your work notifications completely! Unless you're an on-call doctor or surgeon, no one will die if you don’t reply to emails. I've been there, thinking it made me a better employee, but it didn’t. No one cared, and I was still made redundant. You’re legally allowed to take time off, so use it.
Try a social media detox while away. When I was in Corfu, I decided not to check my Instagram for the entire time I was there. It was pure bliss, and I had more time to read my books: win-win.
Be more present. I used to constantly worry about how quickly my time away would end, which stopped me from enjoying the moment. This time, I focused on the day ahead, savouring simple pleasures like breakfast and beach visits. This approach helped me in two ways: it made me more present and created vivid mental images of my favourite seaside views, which relax me whenever I recall them.
Give yourself an extra day between returning and starting work. Use it to do the basics: unpack, put away your suitcase, and do laundry. Follow this with a gym session and grocery shopping the next day. Exercise always improves my mood (though that’s a topic for another time).
Take it slow, very, very, slow. Take it slow when you return to your desk with a pile of unread emails. Breathe and remember most are handled, half are junk, and only 20-30% need your attention, likely not today. Prioritise, reply to the urgent ones, and leave the rest for tomorrow. Catch up with colleagues and attend any meetings. Don’t overdo it.
Do you think you can implement these healthy habits to let yourself have a relaxed and wonderful holiday and keep that joyful feeling for longer? Let me know in the comments.
Notice that I didn’t talk much about nutrition in this blog post. As much as nutrition is important and it would matter if you overdo it with the mojitos and margaritas on the beach, my aim was to point out the importance for your mental wellbeing and how getting away from your daily environment and routine can have amazing benefits on your stress and happiness levels. If you want to find out more about how healthy habits can help you with feeling great even when you are not holidaying somewhere, book your free call here.
References:
1.Crane B. For a More Creative Brain, Travel. The Atlantic. The Atlantic; 2015. Available from: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/03/for-a-more-creative-brain-travel/388135/
2.Scott E. How to Take a Break From Work (and Why You Need It). Verywell Mind. Verywellmind; 2012. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/why-you-should-take-a-break-3144576
3.Crowne KA. Cultural exposure, emotional intelligence, and cultural intelligence. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management. 2019 Feb 7;13(1):5–22. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1470595812452633
4.Nawijn J, Marchand MA, Veenhoven R, Vingerhoets AJ. Vacationers Happier, but Most not Happier After a Holiday. Applied Research in Quality of Life. 2010 Feb 10;5(1):35–47. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2837207/
5.Bloom J, Kompier M, Geurts S, Weerth C, Taris T, Sonnentag S. Do We Recover from Vacation? Meta‐analysis of Vacation Effects on Health and Well‐being. Journal of Occupational Health. 2009 Jan;51(1):13–25.