THE WASHINGTON POST: Pack up your troubles. Why taking a holiday might make you live longer

Holidays can sometimes seem like more trouble than they’re worth when you come home to a full inbox and a fire hose of problems requiring immediate attention.

But people who skip vacations may be missing out on important health benefits, according to a growing body of research linking regular getaways to everything from better heart health to a lower risk of metabolic disorders and even a longer life.

A 2025 review of 32 previous studies in the Journal of Applied Psychology also found that the immediate effects on well-being are more profound and long-lasting than previously thought.

Among the findings in one longitudinal study that followed more than 12,000 men at high risk of coronary heart disease: Those who went on a getaway every year over a nine-year period reduced their overall risk of death by about 20 per cent and their risk of death from heart disease by as much as 30 per cent, according to the study’s main author, Brooks B Gump, a professor of public health at Syracuse University, who studies the health effects of taking vacations.

In other research, Professor Gump and his colleagues found a similar connection between the frequency of time off and metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions — high blood pressure, high blood sugar, a large waist circumference, low HDL (“good”) cholesterol and high triglycerides — that raise the risk of heart attacks, stroke and diabetes.

Each additional holiday the participants took lowered the risk of metabolic syndrome by nearly 25 per cent.

Other researchers have identified links between taking holidays and fewer stress-related physical complaints, lower levels of exhaustion and depression, and greater happiness and well-being.

Even short breaks have health payoffs. When middle managers were assigned to either take a four-day trip or take time off at home, those who left town reported greater positive effects on stress and well-being, according to researchers at Austria’s University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology. And unlike a tan line, the vacation “afterglow” continued for as long as 45 days post-vacation.

Bedroom benefits

Not surprisingly, vacations may also help pay down a sleep debt, long associated with a greater risk of obesity and diabetes, a 2022 study in Nature Human Behaviour suggests. Researchers relied on data collected from Sony SmartBands worn by some 20,000 people, covering 218,000 nights of travel, some of which may have been for business.

Among the travellers, people who were sleep-deprived — sleeping less than 7.5 hours a night — clocked more hours of sleep when they were away from home. (People who typically got more than 7.5 hours nightly tended to sleep less well on the road.)

“My guess is that if someone doesn’t sleep a lot at home, then sleeping someplace new might be an opportunity to catch up,” said study co-author Sune Lehmann, professor of social data science at the University of Copenhagen.

People who usually sleep well may miss the routines that help them doze off at home, he said.

A 2024 study by American and Dutch researchers found that couples who take trips that involve novel, interesting or challenging experiences keep the romantic spark in their relationships, resulting in more physical intimacy.

“Passion can fade even in good relationships,” said study author John K Coffey, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University.

“But the more new experiences couples had during their vacation, the greater their passion and physical intimacy were after the vacation.”

The key, he said, is to engage in activities that satisfy the innate need to learn and grow, a concept known as self-expansion. You don’t have to “go big” with an expensive adventure, he said. Exploring a new city, visiting a museum or trying different cuisines can make a difference.

Even bad experiences like getting lost or missing a connection can bring you closer. Professor Coffey acknowledged that other factors could account for the intimacy boost.

Having the leisure and wealth to travel in the first place might reduce a couple’s stress, leading to a better sex life.

More than the immediate rewards, “vacations provide a buffer against chronic stress and inflammation — both of which wreak havoc on the body,” said Professor Gump.

Taking a break turns off the spigot of stress hormones like cortisol and allows the body to reset, restoring equilibrium, he said.

With a total break from work, “you regain lost psychological resources like energy and positive mood and emotions,” said Ryan Grant, a doctoral student at the University of Georgia and lead author of the vacation after-effects review study.

Holidays that involve physical activity and socialising with family or friends can be particularly good, he said, since both have been shown to improve health outcomes.

To ensure your time away packs the maximum wellness punch, experts provided these tips:

• Minimise engagement with work. “During the vacation itself, it is key that (you) mentally disconnect from work as much as possible,” Mr Grant said. Limit the time you spend taking work calls or answering emails to once a day or less. The third of the TV series “The White Lotus” provides a perfect example of how not disconnecting can be very bad for you.
• Be active. Mr Grant’s meta-analysis found that engaging in physical activity during vacation was the top predictor of better health outcomes later. (Social activity was the second most important factor.)

• If it’s hard to get away for a single long vacation, schedule several short ones. Wellness benefits accrue regardless of a vacation’s length, research has shown (though you may get a bigger boost the longer you are away). Some data suggests these benefits are less seen among people with high-stress jobs, however.
• Savour the memories of your trip to extend the afterglow. Jessica de Bloom, a professor of psychology and public health at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands, who has led several studies investigating the effects of travel on well-being, says this can be very helpful to health.

Picture the perfect waves from when you were taking surfing lessons in Puerto Rico. Or try to duplicate the indescribable mole you tasted in Oaxaca, Mexico, and feel the pleasure and delight rush back, or remember the warm wind from an hour-long bike ride you took.

“Keeping a vacation diary or talking about the top three experiences of the vacation may help people to attend to and appreciate the positive vacation experience more,” Ms de Bloom said.

Regardless of the setting or circumstances, Mr Grant said, it’s the breaking up of intense periods of work with long periods of rest and recovery that makes the difference to health and well-being.

“We need vacations to take care of ourselves,” he said.

(c) 2025, The Washington Post