Holidays – are they good for our health or just fun to go on?

Emma Gorge - The Kimberley

I recently got back from holiday. We try and take a few weeks each year away from home because I find it really helps to recharge the batteries and breaks the routines created during a normal work week. For me I find this beneficial, for others maybe not so much, but what does the research say?

Are holidays good for our health and wellbeing?

There have been a number of studies and at least two recent systematic reviews (which compile studies on the same topic to help us better understand the evidence) that have looked at whether tourism positively impacts older adults physical and functional health, mental health and social wellbeing.

Hiking on Kauai

The majority of the research looking at the benefits of holidays and travel have included cross-sectional studies (data collected once, for example in a one-off survey) or qualitative data using interviews. This means we can say there is a positive or negative association between one thing to another (in this case travel/holidays and health) but we cannot say that holidays or travel are the specific cause of our improved or decline in health. I digress though. So, what did they find?

One study found travel in the last two years reduced the risk of death by 36.6% and that the more trips that were taken, the lower the risk of death [1]. Another study tracked businessman over a 40-year period and those taking shorter vacations tended to die sooner than those who took longer vacations [2]. They are unsure the exact reasons why but those not taking as many holidays may have been leading more stressful and overworked lifestyles. The authors suggested that managing stress is important for heart health and taking holidays may contribute positively to a reduction in stress [2].

Koalas in the wild at Kennett River

A study from the USA found that long-distance travel was positively related to higher cognitive function and a reduction in depression and loneliness [3]. They suggested it may have been due to enhanced opportunities for social connection when we travel further [3].

I wear a smart watch so I can track the number of steps I take each day, how often I stand up and move and how much exercise I am getting. I have to admit all of the markers on my watch increase dramatically when we go away on holidays because we do so much activity. Walking always plays a large part in every holiday away because we are usually seeing new sights. We love to walk through nature and look at waterfalls and amazing scenery that often is not accessible by car or alternatively we spend time in large cities that you either walk around or take public transport. On our latest holiday we did a night-walking tour through the Cairns Botanical Gardens to see insects, bugs and animals living there (more come out at night). It was really interesting and we ended up walking around 2kms that evening without even realising it. The frog below was one of the many things we saw along the way.

Frog living in the Cairns Botanical Gardens

Having strong physical function and the ability to do whatever you want, whenever you want is so important to being able to enjoy holidays and travel in general. It can also often help people with setting goals because they want to achieve different things on holidays and we found this in our successful ageing and goal setting studies [4,5]. People set goals each year to travel and it helped them to maintain their physical fitness and function because they had so many things they wanted to see and do on holiday. 

• If you are struggling for motivation on staying or getting strong and building your endurance perhaps you need to book a holiday? I am not talking about the holidays where you sit on a beach or by the pool and do nothing, I am talking about visiting an exciting, new place you have never been before and requires exploration on foot.

• Many people like cruises and yes everything is available, but you still have the opportunity to walk up and down a lot of stairs if you want to and cover many kilometres walking around some of these boats. The day trips especially around Europe, including the Mediterranean will often mean exploring small villages or old cities where there are cobblestone roads (helps to improve balance), lots of stairs to amazing views (good for strength and endurance) and long days where you need to be able to keep going to see as much as you can. People also often take large suitcases on their travels, the lifting up and over things can also help with building your strength.

• Whether it is on holiday away or at home there are often free walking tours in every city. It might be something to consider because you can learn some really interesting information while keeping your steps up.

• Staying fit, strong and having good balance makes these opportunities a lot more enjoyable and also means you get to meet people and potentially create new friendships, which can be fun also.

• If you can’t afford to travel outside of your hometown, that’s ok consider doing things you have never done before near you. You might be surprised at just how many things are available and free to see, particularly in nature. You might also be able to drive or catch a bus or train to a nearby tourist attraction that you have never thought to do before. Be a tourist in your own town, even if it is just for a day. I bet you end up being more physically active than normal and chat to people you have not met before too.

• Where are you going to plan your next trip?

Live the good life!

References

[1] Qiao, G., Ding, L., Xiang, K., Prideaux, B., Xu, J. (2022). Understanding the value of tourism to seniors' health and positive aging. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031476

[2] Strandberg, T. E., Räikkönen, K., Salomaa, V., Strandberg, A., Kautiainen, H., Kivimäki, M., Pitkälä, K., & Huttunen, J. (2018). Increased mortality despite successful multifactorial cardiovascular risk reduction in healthy men: 40-year follow-up of the Helsinki Businessmen Study intervention trial. The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging, 22(8), 885–891. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12603-018-1099-0

[3] Cole, S., Hua, C., Peng, S., & Wang, W. (2024). Exploring the relationship of leisure travel with loneliness, depression, and cognitive function in older adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(4), 498. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21040498

[4] Burton, E., Chonody, J., Teater, B., Alford, S. 2024. Goal setting in later life: An international comparison of older adults’ defined goals. BMC Geriatrics, 24;443. DOI: 10.1186/s12877-024-05017-x

[5] Burton, E., Teater, B., Chonody, J., Alford, S. 2024. What does it mean to successfully age? Multinational study of older adults’ perceptions. The Gerontologist; 64(10): gnae102. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnae102