Brits value holidays for health – study

Young people were found to take longer to switch off

The vast majority of Brits believe that holidays are worth more to them in terms of health and well-being than the money they spend on them.

According to a new survey undertaken by Kuoni Travel and Nuffield Health, 84% of British holidaymakers value the effects a holiday has on their body. Quantifying this assertion further, almost a third (32%) of Britons said that every pound they spend on a holiday is worth 2-4 times more to them in terms of wellbeing, while more than a quarter (27%) said that its worth 8-10 times more.

The benefits of a break clearly aren’t immediate however; of those surveyed 67% of people said it took up to four days to stop worrying about work. Younger adults (16-24) were most likely to worry the longest.

Chris Jones, head of physiology at Nuffield Health, said; “On a day-to-day basis, our bodies give us subtle physical signals for stress or tiredness that may be caused by our busy modern lives and we all intuitively know that a holiday can help us recharge our batteries. The fact that two-thirds of people are taking up to four days to switch off maybe an important indicator of how we manage stress from our everyday lives.”

Kuoni’s managing director Derek Jones said the study “highlights the health benefits of a significant 10-day to two-week holiday”.

The study polled 2,845 British adults between April and June this year. The report cited four key ways in which holidays can improve people’s lives: enabling people to break a routine, offering the chance to reconnect with loved ones, putting a fresh perspective on people’s lives, and enables people to relax and recharge their batteries.