Does Vacationing Affect Health and Well Being ?

An idyllic beach scene....with plenty of opportunity for a nap

Does taking a vacation improve health and well being? The conventional wisdom is 'yes', however is there empiric data to support this conclusion?


Published in Psychology and Health, Dutch investigators attempted to answer the following; does every worker experience a positive effect of vacation on health and well being (H&W) AND which vacation activities and experiences explain changes in H&W during vacation? 


Using  a 7-week longitudinal field study, 96 workers reported their H&W 2 weeks before, during, 1 week, 2 and 4 weeks after a winter sports vacation on 6 indicators (health status, mood, fatigue, tension, energy level and satisfaction).


Sixty percent of respondents experienced substantial improvement of H&W during and after vacation. A small group, however, experienced no (23%) or a negative effect of vacation (17%). Spending limited time on passive activities, pleasure derived from vacation activities, and the absence of negative incidents during vacation explained 38% of the variance in the vacation effect. 


So it seems like the QUALITY of the vacation is important. As such, choose an especially pleasant vacation activity and avoiding negative incidents (?). Incorporating passive activities during active vacations seems to contribute positively on H&W.


Well, that settles it. I plan on vacationing in paradise only and napping more (passive activity) during my next vacation.