Holidays make you happy and healthy

Study confirms positive effect of vacation on health

05/06/2013

Holiday has a positive effect on personal happiness, which persists even some time after the well-deserved holiday and is much more pronounced than, for example, when shopping or acquiring tangible consumer goods of approximately the same value, according to a study by and organizational psychologist Jessica de Bloom.

Over a period of five years, Jessica de Bloom at Radboud University Nijmegen researched the impact of the leave on workers' health and well-being. In 2012, she published her findings in the popular science book „The art van het vacancy”. As part of the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin, Dr. Ing. Speak to Jessica de Bloom on June 6th, „whereby exactly individual tourist groups recover and how long the recovery lasts.“

Holidays make you happier than physical consumer goods
A new laptop, a new luxury handbag, an expensive wristwatch or a new television have, according to the German-born, health, work and organization psychologist, a much smaller effect on the individual happiness of employees than a holiday that costs about the same , For example, the expert currently working at the University of Tampere in Finland mentions the lack of comparability as a reason for the superior impact of (short) vacations on happiness. „Unlike the designer suit or the expensive wristwatch, you can hardly compare your diving holiday on the Red Sea with your colleague's trip to Barcelona“, so de Bloom in the announcement for her lecture tomorrow.

Holiday with positive effects on health
The psychologist explained that, according to the latest research, people who spend their money on experiences such as a concert visit, a family outing or a short break are happier in the short and long term than people doing physical things such as jewelry, clothing or electronic devices set. Overall, contribute to health holidays and ensure recovery from the stresses of everyday life. The positive effect on health also became, according to current press release of the ITB „as part of the Framingham Heart Study“ approved. This had come to the result, „that people who did not go on vacation for a long time were at greater risk of becoming ill or even dying earlier than people who regularly took time off.“

Especially enjoy the last day of your vacation
The health psychologist Jessica de Bloom also said that in terms of recreation, several short holidays are more recommendable than a large annual holiday. Because similar to sleep „you do not save recovery. A long summer vacation is not enough to compensate for a full year of hard work and overtime.“ Regular short breaks are therefore preferable in terms of health and recreation. The expert added that for the recreational effect of the holiday less its length than the „freedom“ play a role. The companies should meet their own needs and be under the control of the vacationer, Dr. Jessica de Bloom. Also, the last day of vacation is crucial for the recreational effect and the individual happiness after the holidays. The health psychologist therefore advises not to do the case packing and other unpleasant activities last, but better already on the penultimate day of vacation. So could „you really enjoy the last day of your holidays.“ (Fp)

Image: La-Liana