Are Vacations Actually Worthwhile?

Everybody loves to get off of work, but...

DO VACATIONS REALLY HELP YOU?

Is your life in general any happier because of taking a trip?

Do vacations have any lasting positive effect on your life?

Vacations in general don't make you happy

A recent study by a group of Dutch researchers found that "after a break, there's not much difference in mood between those who took a trip and those who stayed put." So, while everybody seems to think that vacations contribute to a happy life, in general they have no lasting effect of happiness.

Relaxing vacations do make a difference

The majority of people don't relax on vacation, and they show no lasting affect of happiness afterwards. * But, people who actually did relax on their vacation showed a noticeable increase in happiness for about two weeks afterwards.

Anticipation of a vacation also makes people happy

Although in general people are not any happier after their vacation, they do look forward to it, and that makes them happier during the time leading up to it.

More frequent vacations may be better

One suggestion that the researchers derived from the study is that "two or more short breaks instead of one longer break may give a bigger mood boost."

An explanatory note: the study dealt with the sustained effects of happiness after a vacation is over. It's not claiming that people are not happy while they're on vacation, but that there was no lasting effect of making them happy in their lives in general.

Relaxation is important

One clear result from this study is that relaxing while away from work really does make a difference. Choosing to relax on vacation, rather than keeping yourself busy, has many benefits.

With a relaxing vacation, not only do you enjoy yourself while you're on vacation, you actually have a sustained sense of happiness in your life in general afterwards.

Because relaxation is what vacations were really intended for!

Sources: The study was conducted by a team from Erasmus University Rotterdam and NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences, and it's published online in the journal Applied Research in Quality of Life.

See another take on the study in the following article in USA Weekend: "Prolong the relaxing effects of a vacation."