Have the holidays failed to refresh your mind and body? Are you feeling more tired post-vacation than you did before you left? It’s time you modified your holiday habits, says a WSJ report.
A vacation is supposed to refresh your mind and body. It can also boost your work performance and creativity. But you need to know how to plan your vacation in order to reap its benefits. Here are a few pointers.
Quickie trips
Jessica de Bloom, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Tampere in Finland, says, “Holidays work more like sleep. You need regular recovery from work in order to stay healthy in the long run.” de Bloom and her fellow researchers studied 54 vacationers, each of whom holidayed for an average of 23 days a year. The finding says that short and regular trips are much more beneficial than long and infrequent vacations.
Eighth day peak
De Bloom and her fellow researchers found that health and wellness of the vacationer peaked at the eighth day and then slowly started to decline. “It could be that eight days is the ideal to fully gain the benefits of a holiday,” de Bloom said. The study was published in 2013 in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Experiment and explore
Refresh your mind by trying out new activities. Take up activities you haven’t done before. The best part is that you can do this while taking a few days off in your own city as well. The researchers also recommend that you end your holiday on a happy note.
Plan…
Planning a vacation is just as relaxing and exciting as actually going on one. Regular restful sleep is much healthier than binge snoozing on the weekend and being groggy through the weekdays. In the same way, recharging often with a short trip or a few days off could be more beneficial than planning a fortnight away once yearly.
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