With a quarter of Britons expected to have spent more on their overseas holidays this year than last, it may disappoint some to learn that for 62% the positive health benefits of a holiday abroad, including feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, last a week or less. 
Global flight search and travel deals website Cheapflights.co.uk found that whilst the majority of holidaymakers (60%) manage to switch off entirely from work when away, the ‘Holiday Hangover’ actually kicks in for some within an hour of returning home.
Over a quarter (26%) of those who responded to an independent UK poll commissioned by Cheapflights claimed that the benefits of going abroad stayed with them for one month after they got home, but only 33% said they remained buoyed up for longer. Sixty minutes is barely long enough to have a cup of tea and sort through the post, but 6% of all Brits claim any benefit from being away wears off by then.
Andrew Shelton, MD at Cheapflights, said: “Given the investment made, for some Brits the positive effects of an overseas holiday do seem to fade fast, with an unfortunate few feeling no afterglow after just an hour. Far from saying don’t take a holiday, we suggest Brits use their pounds (and annual leave) wisely to enjoy shorter breaks throughout the year to top up not just the tan, but those holiday health benefits, too. That way, when the perhaps inevitable back home blues hit, there’s more sunshine ahead.”
The survey also revealed:
Women worry more than men: almost a fifth of British women (19% – compared to 14% of men) claim the post-holiday blues is the most stressful part of the entire holiday experience.
It seems the feeling of foreboding bears fruit: whilst a third of men (30%) say the positive effects of their holiday remain for one month: only 22% of women agree. For most British women (66%) the effects have evaporated after seven days of being back home.
The positive effect of going away lasts longest for those in the West Midlands and South West (with 36% and 38% respectively claiming the glow lasts one month or more); but for one in ten in Northern Ireland and the North East the benefits fade within just sixty minutes.
Of all UK holidaymakers, more living in Yorkshire and the Humber region reported that they still enjoyed the positive benefits of a holiday over six months later than elsewhere – 8% compared to just 3% in the East Midlands; for 5% of Scots and 6% of the Welsh those health benefits endured over six months.
Adults aged 45-54 years were the least likely to still feel relaxed six months after a holiday (just 1.7%) whereas almost 10% of adults under 35 and 6% aged 35-44 years reported that the holiday high remained after that time.
The ‘squeezed middle aged’ – perhaps most likely to be juggling family and career pressures – were also the most likely (at 8% of respondents) to lose the holiday glow within an hour.
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