According to Gallup, both employee engagement and life satisfaction are trending lower from their recent highs from as far back as early 2020. This is no surprise when you also consider that, according to Quora, 90% of our news is negative.
Our world just feels less friendly, less happy, less joyous. Not everywhere. Not always. Not everyone. But enough where its noticeable, where it’s palpable…and it’s a problem.
There seems to be an ethos of diminished hope—not overwhelming like an existential threat or a pandemic around the corner but smaller and much more personal. More like–I’m holding back, closed off, and not open to the joys that are looking for a way in. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy—I’m not open to it (joy, happiness, optimism—insert your term) so it never comes.
I’ve quiet-quit at work. The news is depressing. And I’m surrounded by negativity. Ugh.
And while the above is true for many, it doesn’t have to be.
None of us are defined by our surroundings nor prisoners to our environment. There are behaviors we can adopt, interventions to help us flourish, and specific actions that we can take to not only change our surroundings but also change us.
And so, I refer you to the Wisconsin Rural Women’s Health Study, which sought to “compare psychological stress, quality of marital life, and disruptive homelife due to work among rural women of central Wisconsin who take vacations frequently and those who do not.”
Indeed, a study comparing the outcomes of those who take vacations and those who don’t.
The study then followed a cohort of 1500 women from 1996 – 2001 and concluded that, “women who take vacations frequently are less likely to become tense, depressed, or tired, and are more satisfied with their marriage…[this] may also lead to improved work performance.”
The above study might seem a bit simplistic or even obvious. Most of you have probably experienced the joy, pleasure, freedom, and even the healing aspects of taking a much-needed vacation. But few understand why these excursions, these getaways, these respites in the middle of chaos, produce such intense emotion, long-term mood enhancement, and well-being improvements.
I strongly recommend them, personally. But as a positivity expert, I zealously recommend them, and putting the obvious aside, here’s why.
Planning a vacation increases happiness and overall wellbeing. And you can thank your DOSE chemicals for that, i.e. dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins—all key to feelings of joy and gladness. Yes, we feel happy and excited but we do so BECAUSE of the release of these amazing, life-enriching neurochemicals. Let’s begin with the powerful and well-known neurotransmitter dopamine, which is key to the brain’s pleasure and reward system. While we review flight options, local and exotic restaurants, and the most compelling excursions, dopamine courses through neural pathways, elevating our mood, raising happiness levels, and enhancing motivation. Dopamine’s release—and this is really its greatest benefit–increases the chance that we’ll repeat beneficial behaviors, like a new experience, a different culture, and the novelty of a far-off land. And its not a one-off release—dopamine gets released when we set a goal (the Amalfi Coast!), when we make progress toward a goal (bags packed!), and, of course, when we achieve our goal (sipping limoncello overlooking the mediterranean! Ahhhh.).
Most interesting, it is the planning and anticipating of a vacation that launches the biggest change in our brains and in our moods; we get excited about a unique adventure on the horizon as our brain shifts from default mode and into anticipatory excitement. One of my wise clients, head of HR for a well-known cruise line, suggests, “Always be planning your next vacation.”
One study assessed how vacations affect happiness among over 1500 adults from The Netherlands. It confirmed what many of us have experienced–that planning and anticipating a vacation provides a noticeable boost to our happiness.
Of course, the joy of travel tends to expand beyond just the planning stage. Our brains love novelty, which is provided in abundance at historic or exotic locations. Stand in view of the Pantheon, Eifel Tower or the Grand Canyon and feel the surge of wonder and emotion. If at any point during the trip, you experience peace and calm, say while relaxing on a sunbaked Caribbean beach or a Hungarian coffee shop, you can at least partially thank serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates our mood, sleep and digestion, lifts our spirits, builds relationships and surges when we feel good about ourselves. All key emotions, and chemical responses, that help ensure a successful and memorable trip.
The other aspect of a fulfilling life, not to mention an endearing vacation, is the opportunity to meet new people, especially the novelty of those different from us. With each new introduction, perhaps at a river cruise dinner table or in front of a crowded ski chalet fireplace, we get rewarded with an infusion of oxytocin, the love, intimacy, and relationship neurotransmitter. It encourages relationship building and helps us build trust. Build positive relationships, meet new and interesting people, get rewarded with more neurochemicals.
It is this chemical reward that fuels our wanderlust.
While many look to vacations for find peace, discover interesting people, others enjoy the perspiration. On a recent trip to Italy, and on purpose, we averaged about eight miles of walking per day. Not only did we see everything we wanted, we calculated that we could then eat everything we wanted. With enough effort and exertion, think hiking or snorkeling, you can also feel the release of endorphins, which not only relieves pain but inspires feelings of euphoria. Considering the sheer joy of travel, endorphins are released during laughter as well.
It’s not exactly news that travel can be good for us, especially our well-being, and especially if the trip is relatively stress and worry-free. The good news is that for many, the happiness created while planning and executing the trip can last for weeks after. One study examined collected data from Korean tourists, noting that life satisfaction increased before, during and as long as a month following travel.
Travel works because it provides the brain (and the soul) exactly what it needs. It gets us out of our comfort zone, provides novelty and the opportunity to meet new people, and helps release the very neurochemicals that help us to feel happier and more joyful. All this in a world that tends to be lacking both. Want to feel a new boost of joy and happiness? Start planning a trip. Want to keep that feeling going? Take a few trips a year, expanding the days and weeks of that chemical boost. Get out there. No more excuses. Always be planning your next trip.