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As part of an experiment, scientists from Texas A&M University (USA) followed a group of students on a sea voyage. The participants wore smart watches that recorded their heart rate and activity, and kept diaries detailing their activities during the day. The data showed that the change of scenery creates a special mode of stress for the body: periods of emotional elevation alternate with deep relaxation. This “rhythm” resembles interval training and helps to strengthen the heart muscle.
Scientists have paid special attention to the impact of travel on the psyche. According to the theory of cognitive activation, a person’s ability to cope with stress depends on his adaptive resources. New impressions, unfamiliar environment and the need to make non-standard decisions help to develop this resilience. As a result, a person can more easily cope with everyday stresses and recover faster from tense situations.
In addition, travel has a noticeable social effect: it strengthens interpersonal ties and broadens one’s horizons. People who travel regularly tend to be more open-minded and interested in new knowledge.
The study also showed that the length of the vacation plays an important role. Longer trips, such as a week, had a more pronounced and sustained effect on stress reduction compared to shorter outings. However, the researchers suggest that excessively long vacations may have the opposite effect, but this issue requires further study.
Thus, vacations can be viewed not as an excess, but as a necessary element of maintaining health and quality of life.
