Kuoni has teamed up with charity Nuffield Health on a report which claims to show the positive impact of holidays on long-term health.
The Holiday Health Report is based on a study of 12 participants between summer and autumn last year, which was designed to establish “whether the much-discussed ‘feel good factor’ generated by vacations is based on physical and psychological fact”.
The study reportedly found that those who were part of a group sent on holiday benefited from lower blood pressure, improved sleep quality and improved stress management – with the effects continuing for at least two weeks after returning home.
Dr Lucy Goundry, medical director of wellbeing for Nuffield Health, said: “For the first time, our clinical results show how holidays helped these couples reduce their blood pressure, improve their sleep and manage their stress levels better.
“These results clearly demonstrate that on holiday our resilience to stress improves. Becoming more resilient to stress is hugely important as most of us will return back to stress when our holiday ends but being more resilient to it helps lay the foundations for improved productivity at work, better energy levels and ultimately happiness.
“As many as a third of workers do not take their full holiday entitlement each year – I urge everyone to ensure they plan their holidays carefully, working hard is important but so is taking time to rest and recuperate.”
Derek Jones, managing director of Kuoni, said: “This study backs up with evidence the long-held belief that holidays are good for our health. I hope people will acknowledge not only a boost to their productivity, but to their longevity from taking full annual leave, preferably peppered throughout the year.
“Saying you’re too busy to take your full entitlement could be counterproductive. Regular holidays can be counted as preventive medicine.”