A Holiday Is Not Always Restful: What Really Helps with Stress
Sound familiar? Your holiday has barely ended, and the stress is already back. Many people expect two or three weeks off to compensate for the pressure of an entire year. Biologically, however, this only works to a limited extent: studies show that the restorative effects of a holiday often fade within just a few days of returning.¹ Anyone who wants to live a more balanced life in the long term cannot rely solely on a few weeks off each year.
Why We Expect So Much from Our Holidays
The idea seems logical: if everyday life has been demanding for months, a holiday should make up for it. This expectation is also a consequence of today’s working environment. According to the Mavie Stress Study 2025, 70% of employed people in Austria frequently feel stressed—an increase of 16 percentage points compared with the previous year.⁵ For more than half, work is the single greatest source of stress.⁵
The more strain builds up over several weeks, the greater the pressure for time off to provide relief. Yet this pressure can itself become a source of stress. Anyone who resolves to “finally switch off properly” while on holiday turns rest into another task that has to be completed—and often loses the very sense of ease that genuine recovery requires.
What Happens in Your Body When You Cannot Switch Off
Stress is not purely psychological. It is also closely linked to the nervous system. During prolonged periods of strain, the sympathetic nervous system—the activating part of the autonomic nervous system—remains in a state of alert.³ This cannot simply be switched off on the first day of a holiday.
The transition from tension to recovery takes time: stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline only decrease gradually.³ Anyone who goes directly from their desk to the airport confronts the body with an abrupt change to which it cannot respond immediately. This also explains why many people feel restless rather than relaxed during the first few days of their holiday.
When Holidays Make You Ill: The Phenomenon of Leisure Sickness
Some people become ill precisely when they finally have time to rest. This phenomenon is known as leisure sickness. A recent study by IU International University of Applied Sciences provides clear figures.³ Of employees in Germany, 71.9% have experienced exhaustion or symptoms of illness during days off or while on holiday. For 19.3%, this happens frequently or every time.
Typical signs include:
A sudden decline in stress hormones is considered one possible physical cause. As tension decreases, the previously suppressed immune response returns to normal—and symptoms may then become noticeable.³ Difficulty switching off after work also plays a role: 38.4% of respondents report experiencing this.³ More than half also say that being constantly reachable outside working hours interferes with their recovery.³
What Research Really Shows About Recovery During Holidays
How quickly does the holiday effect actually fade? A 2024 meta-analysis evaluated data from 13 studies involving a total of 1,428 participants.¹ The findings show that holidays noticeably improve wellbeing, including mood, stress levels, and exhaustion.¹ However, just one week after returning to work, there are no longer any meaningful differences compared with pre-holiday levels.¹
Interestingly, a longer holiday does not automatically result in greater recovery. The researchers therefore recommend spreading several shorter holidays throughout the year rather than relying on a single extended break.¹
Why Small Moments of Recovery Matter More Than One Major Holiday
If one holiday cannot secure lasting recovery, what does sustainable stress regulation look like? It begins with short but regular breaks in everyday life. A meta-analysis involving more than 2,300 participants found that so-called micro-breaks—such as taking a short walk, having a conversation, or consciously pausing to breathe—measurably increase energy and noticeably reduce exhaustion.⁴
This effect is independent of when your next holiday takes place. Anyone who incorporates small moments of recovery into each day does not have to depend on two weeks a year for all their regeneration. This is also where prevention begins: deliberate routines and offline periods relieve pressure on the brain long before exhaustion becomes chronic.
How to Manage the Transition into a Holiday—and Back Again
A good transition does not begin at your holiday destination, but beforehand.
Allow for a transition period: Taking one or two days to wind down before the holiday itself creates a gentler transition instead of going directly from one hundred to zero.
Clarify expectations: How much rest do you need, and how much shared activity? Clear agreements reduce pressure during a holiday together.
Set boundaries: Leaving your work phone and laptop at home supports mental detachment more effectively than relying on willpower alone.
Plan your return: Leaving at least one day between the end of your holiday and your first day back at work helps prevent the restorative effect from disappearing immediately.
By managing this transition consciously, you can significantly extend the restorative effects of your holiday.
If exhaustion persists over an extended period, you should not ignore it. The World Health Organization describes persistent exhaustion resulting from chronic workplace stress as a syndrome characterised by three central features.² These include depleted energy, increasing mental distance from one’s work, and a reduced sense of professional effectiveness. In such cases, more than short breaks may be required—for example, professional support.
