Brandon C White- Build a Business Success Formula

The Ideal Vacation Length

Mar 9, 2024 | Peak Performance, Productivity

The Ideal Vacation Length

Ever feel like your vacation ends just as you’re starting to relax?

Or maybe you come back feeling more stressed than when you left?

You’re not alone!

But what if there was a sweet spot, a scientifically proven ideal vacation length for maximum rejuvenation?

Today we’re diving into the science of vacations, we’re giving you survey results about taking vacations, what the science says and finish up giving you the ideal vacation length.

According to a 2022 study published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, 28 million Americans didn’t even use their paid vacation time!

If you’re one of these people, you’re likely burned out and not working at your peak productivity potential.

A research study published in Journal of Happiness Studies titled “Vacation duration and psychological well-being: An experimental field study” explored the impact of vacation length on well-being.

They followed 54 people on 23-day vacations monitoring their happiness level. They found that happiness peaked around day eight. That’s right, eight days!. It seems our brains and bodies need time to de-stress and truly disconnect before being able to truly relax.

Another study titled “The Effect of Vacation Length on Happiness: New Evidence from a Large Representative Sample” published in the Journal of Travel Research suggests a slightly different ideal.

This one tracked over 1,600 vacationers and found that happiness continued to increase even beyond eight days, reaching a peak at two weeks. So, it seems the longer the better, up to a point.

And our last study published in Tourism Management, titled “Cost-effectiveness of vacation duration: Evidence from Korean outbound tourism”, looked at the financial side of things.

They found that the sweet spot for cost-effectiveness lands around ten days. So, if you’re on a budget, ten days might be your golden ticket.

So, what’s the verdict?

Well, the ideal vacation length depends on several factors: your budget, personality, and desired level of relaxation. But, the research suggests aiming for at least eight days, with two weeks offering even greater benefits. And if you’re budget-conscious, ten days is your sweet spot.

One last tip, allow a full day at home before going to work. Getting home from vacation on a 4pm flight and having to get up at 6am the next day is not the way you want to return to work.

Remember: It’s not just about the duration, but also about disconnecting from work and truly immersing yourself in the experience.

So, put your phone on airplane mode, grab a good book, eat good food, laugh and go explore! You’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Your move 🫵

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