How long you need to go on vacation at a minimum to come back zen

Today is again my first workday after a mini-vacation. To be precise, I was away for five and a half days to sunny Mallorca. Did I come back completely relaxed? Not exactly. It was only on the last day of my trip that I finally started to get used to the idea of vacation. That day, I opened my book for the first time and felt completely stress-free. Unfortunately, I had to go home early the next morning, which meant I was dead tired on the plane a few hours later. I kept thinking how I wished I could stay four days longer during my return trip.

Well, I absolutely do not want to complain, but I have started to wonder what exactly the ideal length of a vacation is. The idea of a long trip can also be quite overwhelming for me, so how many days does a person need to be away to return completely relaxed? Well, I have looked into this for you and of course for myself.

A study by psychologist Richard Friedman has shown that you need at least eight days to completely relax both physically and mentally. In this study 58 people participated who went on a vacation of at least two weeks. Before, after, and during their trip, they had to answer a number of questions, such as: how was your mood today? and: how tense do you feel today?

The results? That the health and well-being of vacationers already increases slightly during the first four days, but peaks the most during the fourth and eighth vacation day. With just a little week away, you miss this crucial eighth day, where your health and well-being peak the highest. It simply takes a few days to acclimatize and completely calm your mind after a busy period filled with work and other stressful activities.

Tip of the day: book that next vacation (if it's not a city trip but meant to relax) for a nice ten days. Otherwise, you'll find yourself working again, sighing, puffing, and huffing, and no one benefits from that.

source: nytimes