Why Taking Vacations Is Good for You: Science-Backed Benefits of Taking Time Off

Authored by La Jolla Vitality Co.

For many people, taking a vacation can feel surprisingly difficult.

There is always another email to answer, another project to finish, another household responsibility to handle, or another reason to postpone time away. Some people even feel guilty about taking time off, worrying that they will fall behind or appear less committed to their work.

But taking a vacation isn't simply an indulgence. Time away from your usual responsibilities can be an important part of maintaining physical health, mental well-being, relationships, and long-term productivity.

Research on vacations and recovery from work suggests that time away can improve well-being, reduce exhaustion, and provide an opportunity to psychologically detach from work. A 2025 meta-analysis of 32 studies found that vacations had a substantial positive effect on employee well-being, with psychological detachment and physical activity among the recovery experiences associated with greater benefits.

Here are some of the science-backed reasons to make vacation part of a healthy lifestyle.

1. Vacations Help Reduce Stress

One of the most obvious benefits of vacation is also one of the most important: a break from ongoing demands can give your mind and body an opportunity to recover.

Work, caregiving, household responsibilities, financial concerns, and constant digital connectivity can create a state of ongoing mental activation. Even when you aren't actively working, thinking about unfinished tasks can make it difficult to fully relax.

Vacation creates an opportunity to step away from at least some of these demands.

Research examining vacation recovery has found improvements in health and well-being during vacation. Earlier research found relatively small effects that tended to fade after people returned to work, while more recent research has found stronger and more persistent benefits.

The important takeaway is not that one vacation permanently eliminates stress. Rather, regular periods of recovery can help prevent life from becoming an uninterrupted cycle of work and obligation.

2. Vacations Give Your Brain a Chance to Detach

Being physically away from work isn't necessarily enough.

You can sit on a beautiful beach while checking your work email every 15 minutes and thinking about tomorrow's deadlines.

One of the most important components of a restorative vacation appears to be psychological detachment: temporarily disengaging from work-related thoughts and responsibilities.

Research on vacation recovery has found that feeling relaxed and psychologically detached from work is associated with greater well-being during and after vacation. Working during vacation, by contrast, was associated with poorer post-vacation well-being in one study.

This means that the most restorative vacation may not be the one with the most activities. It may be the one that allows you to genuinely disconnect.

3. Vacations Can Improve Overall Well-Being

A vacation can provide a temporary boost in how people feel about their lives.

A 2025 meta-analysis examining 32 studies found that vacation was associated with improved employee well-being and that the benefits were greater than suggested by earlier research.

Other research has found that experiences such as relaxation, autonomy, psychological detachment, and enjoyable activities are associated with greater vacation satisfaction and life satisfaction.

This makes sense intuitively. Life can become dominated by obligations. Vacation introduces time for activities that are chosen rather than required.

That sense of choice matters.

4. Vacations Can Help Combat Burnout and Exhaustion

Burnout isn't simply being tired after a long week. Chronic occupational stress can involve emotional exhaustion, mental fatigue, and reduced capacity to recover.

Taking time away from work can interrupt the cycle.

A meta-analysis published in 2009 found that vacations had positive effects on exhaustion, health complaints, and life satisfaction, although many of the benefits diminished after people returned to work.

More recent evidence is encouraging: the 2025 meta-analysis found stronger overall well-being effects than earlier research had identified.

Vacation should not be viewed as a treatment for severe burnout by itself. If someone is experiencing significant psychological distress or occupational dysfunction, additional changes and professional support may be necessary.

But regular recovery can be an important part of preventing work from becoming an endless source of depletion.

5. Vacations Can Encourage Physical Activity

Vacation does not automatically mean being physically active. Some trips involve sitting in a hotel for several days.

However, vacations can create opportunities for movement that aren't available during a typical workday.

Walking through a new city, swimming, hiking, cycling, exploring nature, playing recreational sports, or simply spending more time outdoors can increase physical activity.

The 2025 meta-analysis specifically identified physical activity during vacation as one of the recovery experiences associated with improved employee well-being.

A healthy vacation therefore doesn't have to involve an intensive fitness itinerary. Something as simple as walking more and spending time outside can contribute to the restorative experience.

6. Vacations Can Strengthen Relationships

Traveling with a partner, friends, or family members creates opportunities for shared experiences that may be difficult to prioritize during ordinary routines.

Research on short vacations has found that conversations with a partner, relaxation, psychological detachment, and enjoyment of vacation activities were associated with better well-being during vacation.

Shared experiences can provide opportunities to:

• Talk without rushing

• Try something new together

• Laugh and have fun

• Create memorable experiences

• Get away from everyday responsibilities

• Reconnect after a stressful period

Of course, not every vacation improves relationships. Traveling can also create conflict when people have different expectations about money, schedules, activities, or downtime.

The goal isn't to create a "perfect" vacation. It's to create opportunities for meaningful connection.

7. Vacations Provide Novelty and New Experiences

Our normal routines can become highly repetitive.

Wake up. Work. Commute. Exercise. Make dinner. Handle chores. Go to sleep. Repeat.

Travel can disrupt that pattern.

New environments expose us to different foods, scenery, cultures, activities, and social experiences. Research has found that challenging or novel experiences during vacation can be associated with greater vacation satisfaction and life satisfaction.

Novelty doesn't require an expensive international trip.

A weekend in a nearby town, a new hiking trail, a museum you've never visited, or a different type of cultural experience can provide a meaningful break from routine.

8. Vacations Can Support Better Recovery From Work

One of the biggest reasons vacations matter is that rest and work serve different purposes.

Work requires sustained attention, decision-making, problem-solving, and responsibility.

Recovery gives you an opportunity to temporarily step away from those demands.

The distinction is particularly important for people who work remotely or have jobs that make it easy to remain connected 24/7.

If your "vacation" involves answering emails every morning, taking work calls at lunch, and spending the evening worrying about your inbox, you may be physically somewhere else without truly recovering.

A more restorative vacation creates actual boundaries around work.

9. Taking Time Off May Have Long-Term Health Associations

Some of the most interesting research concerns long-term health.

In a prospective analysis of more than 12,000 middle-aged men at elevated risk for coronary heart disease, greater frequency of annual vacations was associated with lower subsequent all-cause mortality and lower cardiovascular mortality over nine years.

However, this type of observational evidence needs to be interpreted carefully.

It does not prove that vacations themselves caused the reduction in mortality. People who take more vacations may differ from people who take fewer vacations in other ways that affect health.

Nevertheless, the findings are consistent with the broader idea that adequate recovery and leisure may be relevant to long-term health.

10. Vacations May Support Mental Health

Time away from chronic work demands can create space for sleep, exercise, social connection, enjoyable activities, and psychological recovery—all of which can contribute to mental well-being.

Research has also examined the relationship between paid vacation leave and depression. One longitudinal U.S. study found an association between greater paid vacation leave and lower odds of depression among women in the study population, although the researchers emphasized that the findings do not establish causation and did not show the same association in men.

The broader lesson is that time off is one component of a healthy lifestyle, rather than a substitute for professional treatment when someone is experiencing depression, anxiety, or another mental health condition.

You Don't Have to Travel Far to Benefit

A vacation doesn't have to mean an expensive international trip.

What matters is not necessarily the distance traveled. In fact, the 2025 meta-analysis found that the role of vacation location: away from home, at home, or a combination, remains unclear.

A restorative break might be:

• A week at the beach

• A national park trip

• A long weekend in a nearby city

• Visiting family

• A staycation

• A quiet weekend at home

• A retreat focused on nature and relaxation

The important ingredients may be less about the destination and more about recovery, psychological detachment, enjoyable activities, autonomy, and reduced work demands.

How to Make Your Vacation More Restorative

Simply taking vacation days doesn't guarantee that you'll feel refreshed.

Consider these strategies:

1. Actually Disconnect From Work

Set an out-of-office message and establish expectations before leaving.

If possible, avoid routinely checking your work email.

2. Don't Over-Schedule

A vacation can become another source of stress if every hour is planned.

Leave room for spontaneity and downtime.

3. Prioritize Sleep

Use vacation as an opportunity to catch up on rest rather than treating every day as an excuse to stay up late.

4. Move Your Body

Walk, swim, hike, cycle, stretch, or participate in whatever physical activities you enjoy.

5. Spend Time With People You Enjoy

Social connection can be an important part of a restorative break.

6. Do Something Different

Try a new restaurant, explore a new neighborhood, visit a museum, learn something, or experience a different environment.

7. Give Yourself Permission to Relax

You don't have to make every vacation productive.

Rest is productive in its own way.

8. Consider Taking Multiple Breaks

Instead of waiting until you're completely exhausted before taking time off, consider spreading vacation throughout the year.

Research suggests that vacation benefits can diminish after returning to work, which supports the idea that recovery should be an ongoing process rather than a once-a-year event.

What If You Feel Guilty Taking Vacation?

For highly responsible or achievement-oriented people, vacation can trigger guilt.

You may think:

"I have too much to do."

"My coworkers will think I'm not committed."

"I'll fall behind."

"I should save my vacation days for something important."

But taking time away from work is not necessarily a sign that you are less dedicated. Recovery can help you return with more energy and perspective.

Instead of thinking about vacation as time you are "taking away" from your responsibilities, consider it part of maintaining your ability to meet those responsibilities sustainably.

The Bottom Line

Vacation is more than a luxury.

Research suggests that taking time away from work can improve well-being, support recovery from stress, encourage physical activity, facilitate psychological detachment, and create opportunities for social connection and enjoyable experiences. A large 2025 meta-analysis provides particularly strong evidence that vacations can meaningfully improve employee well-being.

At the same time, vacations are not a cure-all. Their effects vary, some benefits may fade after returning to work, and taking time off cannot compensate for an unhealthy job, chronic sleep deprivation, untreated mental health concerns, or an unsustainable lifestyle.

The healthiest approach is to view vacation as one component of a balanced life.

You don't have to earn rest by becoming completely exhausted first.

Taking time to recover, reconnect, explore, and simply enjoy your life isn't wasted time. It is part of taking care of yourself.

Sources

• Grant, R. S., Buchanan, B. E., & Shockley, K. M. (2025). I Need a Vacation: A Meta-Analysis of Vacation and Employee Well-Being. Journal of Applied Psychology.

• de Bloom, J., et al. (2009). Do We Recover From Vacation? Meta-Analysis of Vacation Effects on Health and Well-Being. Journal of Occupational Health.

• de Bloom, J., et al. (2012). Effects of Short Vacations, Vacation Activities and Experiences on Employee Health and Well-Being. Stress and Health.

• Gump, B. B., & Matthews, K. A. (2000). Are Vacations Good for Your Health? The 9-Year Mortality Experience After the Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial. Psychosomatic Medicine.