Travel Smarter: The Key to Boosting Happiness on Vacation

As we enter the holiday season in the U.S., with Thanksgiving and winter break just around the corner, many of us are planning vacations. I’m excited about a few trips I’ve got lined up in the coming months. As I plan my own trips, I’ve been digging into the research on how to travel smarter and make vacations more joyful and refreshing.

The first paper we look at is:

Nawijn et al., 2010. Vacationers Happier, but Most not Happier After a Holiday https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2837207/

How can we take vacations to maximize health and happiness? The study showed that:

• Pre-trip happiness spikes. People experience higher happiness levels while anticipating their vacations.
• Relaxed vacations lead to post-trip happiness. Taking a restful and enjoyable trip makes a difference.
• The happiness boost fades fast. There’s generally no significant long-term difference in happiness between those who vacation and those who don’t. Any positive effects last just a few days or weeks.
• Trip length doesn’t matter. Long vacations don’t increase happiness more than short ones.

Implications:

• Take short breaks. Two or more short trips may bring more happiness than a single, long vacation.
• Relaxation is key. Focus on stress-free travel. Avoid things like long lines, long air travel, and jet lag.

There’s also a great literature review paper:

Chen and and Petrick, 2013. Health and Wellness Benefits of Travel Experiences: A Literature Review https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0047287513496477

This paper highlights:

• Proven benefits for wellness. Multiple studies confirm the positive effects of travel on health and happiness.
• What affects happiness? Factors like time-zone differences, health problems, and even temperature (warm weather is preferred!) play a role.
• Stress relief for employees. Vacations reduce work stress, burnout, and absenteeism while improving job performance.
• Support for health challenges. Patients, people with disabilities, and others with health issues see significant emotional and social benefits from travel.

This last point is particularly meaningful for cancer patients like me. Travel isn’t always easy with hospital visits and treatment schedules, but I’m really happy about all the trips I was able to take this year. Even a short getaway to a nearby city can leave me feeling refreshed. Travel often means spending quality time with loved ones, and that makes a huge difference too.