Why your holiday glow fades in three weeks, and how to make it last

You come home rested. A month later it’s as if you never left. Here’s what the research says, and what seems to help.

Dr. [Name]

Environmental psychologist · Reviewed by the Verve advisory panel

In short

Holidays reliably improve health and wellbeing while you’re away.
Those gains usually fade within a few weeks of returning.
Small, repeated habits that echo the trip may slow the fade.

Evidence strengthPromising

What happens when we come home

[Article body placeholder: the expert’s text goes here. Two to four short paragraphs per section, in plain language, with each claim linked to its source below.]

[A 2009 meta-analysis by de Bloom and colleagues is the anchor study for this section.]

“The trip is the start of the change, not the whole of it.”

What seems to help it last

[Placeholder: practical guidance such as a home ritual, a slower first week back, a check-in a few months later.]

Sources

de Bloom, J. et al. (2009). Do we recover from vacation? Meta-analysis of vacation effects on health and well-being. J. Occupational Health.
Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science.

Keep reading

The first week back: a gentle re-entry plan

Jet lag, light and sleep: arriving without the crash

What I learned leading 40 silent retreats