
Peace out!
We’re just one month into the brand new 12 months, but if you happen to’re itching to make use of your PTO, you’re not alone. About 12% of Americans vow to travel more in 2025, with one travel industry news site calling this “the 12 months of long getaways.”
It’s necessary to maximise the time you’ve gotten off. Latest research reveals a straightforward strategy to improve your health and well-being on vacation — and an annoying habit to avoid.
Psychologists on the University of Georgia analyzed 32 studies from nine countries and were surprised to learn that vacations are more helpful for worker well-being than previously thought. Their findings were published this month within the Journal of Applied Psychology.
“Job demands and job stress are on the rise. But people think that they’ll’t take day without work because they don’t need to look bad or lose out on a possibility for promotion,” said Ryan Grant, lead study writer and a doctoral student in psychology.
“We predict working more is healthier, but we actually perform higher by taking good care of ourselves,” Grant continued. “We’d like to interrupt up these intense periods of labor with intense periods of rest and recuperation.”
Boost your well-being on vacation
Grant’s team determined that travelers who take part in physical activities — anything that gets their heart rate up — experience higher levels of well-being and restoration.
“Quite a lot of physical activities you’re doing on vacation, like snorkeling for instance, are physical,” Grant said. “In order that they’re providing you with the physiological and mental health advantages. But they’re also unique opportunities for these really positive experiences that you almost certainly don’t get in your on a regular basis life.”
A Florida-based fitness trainer recommends packing resistance bands and doing 10-minute workouts on vacation.
Her 10-minute ab routine consists of moving planks, spider walks, toe reaches, hole holds and side planks.
Cossack squats, sumo squats, weight slides, inner-thigh hip dips and inner-thigh lifts are a part of her 10-minute inner-thigh workout.
Avoid this one pitfall
It’s easy to proceed to reply emails and take work calls whilst you’re on vacation — but you achieve this at your peril.
“For those who’re not at work but you’re eager about work on vacation, you may as well be on the office,” Grant said. “Vacations are one among the few opportunities we get to completely just disconnect from work.”
Vacationing employees who disengaged from work showed probably the most improvement of their well-being, based on the evaluation.
A US clinical psychologist suggests telling your coworkers what to anticipate in your absence and muting notifications in your phone.
For those who still end up sneaking a peek, try deleting work apps altogether.
Other suggestions for maximizing day without work work
- Use all of your vacation time. Studies show that Americans collectively leave greater than 600 million vacation days unused annually.
- Reduce stress by giving yourself time to pack and plan your trip.
- Carve out a day or two at the top of the holiday to ease the transition back to work.

Peace out!
We’re just one month into the brand new 12 months, but if you happen to’re itching to make use of your PTO, you’re not alone. About 12% of Americans vow to travel more in 2025, with one travel industry news site calling this “the 12 months of long getaways.”
It’s necessary to maximise the time you’ve gotten off. Latest research reveals a straightforward strategy to improve your health and well-being on vacation — and an annoying habit to avoid.
Psychologists on the University of Georgia analyzed 32 studies from nine countries and were surprised to learn that vacations are more helpful for worker well-being than previously thought. Their findings were published this month within the Journal of Applied Psychology.
“Job demands and job stress are on the rise. But people think that they’ll’t take day without work because they don’t need to look bad or lose out on a possibility for promotion,” said Ryan Grant, lead study writer and a doctoral student in psychology.
“We predict working more is healthier, but we actually perform higher by taking good care of ourselves,” Grant continued. “We’d like to interrupt up these intense periods of labor with intense periods of rest and recuperation.”
Boost your well-being on vacation
Grant’s team determined that travelers who take part in physical activities — anything that gets their heart rate up — experience higher levels of well-being and restoration.
“Quite a lot of physical activities you’re doing on vacation, like snorkeling for instance, are physical,” Grant said. “In order that they’re providing you with the physiological and mental health advantages. But they’re also unique opportunities for these really positive experiences that you almost certainly don’t get in your on a regular basis life.”
A Florida-based fitness trainer recommends packing resistance bands and doing 10-minute workouts on vacation.
Her 10-minute ab routine consists of moving planks, spider walks, toe reaches, hole holds and side planks.
Cossack squats, sumo squats, weight slides, inner-thigh hip dips and inner-thigh lifts are a part of her 10-minute inner-thigh workout.
Avoid this one pitfall
It’s easy to proceed to reply emails and take work calls whilst you’re on vacation — but you achieve this at your peril.
“For those who’re not at work but you’re eager about work on vacation, you may as well be on the office,” Grant said. “Vacations are one among the few opportunities we get to completely just disconnect from work.”
Vacationing employees who disengaged from work showed probably the most improvement of their well-being, based on the evaluation.
A US clinical psychologist suggests telling your coworkers what to anticipate in your absence and muting notifications in your phone.
For those who still end up sneaking a peek, try deleting work apps altogether.
Other suggestions for maximizing day without work work
- Use all of your vacation time. Studies show that Americans collectively leave greater than 600 million vacation days unused annually.
- Reduce stress by giving yourself time to pack and plan your trip.
- Carve out a day or two at the top of the holiday to ease the transition back to work.







