What happens to your brain on holiday (and how to replicate it at home)

And as Australians are drawing down on huge pools of annual leave (with a record 2000 million total days accrued by September last year, according to Roy Morgan), the trend is likely to continue.

But at the same time, frustrated and priced-out locals are calling for measures against over-tourism in some of the most heavily trafficked parts of Europe. Closer to home, higher interest rates and inflation have triggered cost-of-living pressures that could also put holidays on hold.

Fortunately, many of the benefits of travel can be achieved without heading to Venice or Barcelona – or even leaving your home town, says Georgia Ashworth, a clinical psychologist with the Australian Institute for Human Wellness.

“Seeing new things, trying new foods, and attempting to adapt to a different culture shifts our mind out of autopilot and encourages new ways of thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, all of which can be pleasurable and rewarding experiences,” she says.

As we navigate new settings, listen to different languages and use different skills, it strengthens auditory processing, enhances our ability to pay attention, and reinforces spacial awareness.

“By being on holidays, our brain is active and rewiring itself for the better,” Ashworth says.

Garth Lean, a senior lecturer in tourism and heritage studies at the University of Western Sydney, says by departing from our day-to-day routines we “give ourselves permission to perform travel”.

That is, we step away from the “scripts” of work, family and general life.

“We become the traveller, and the traveller is the explorer, the discoverer – somebody who engages in new pursuits [and is] willing to put themselves outside their comfort zone to experience new cultures,” he says.

“And the funny thing is that there’s a long history to this. The oldest forms of literature are travel literature, which tell the story of a person leaving the familiar and going out and facing challenges.”

You can experience new challenges in your home town too, Lean says.

“A large body of my work has been about how people change through the process of physical travel, and what a lot of people talk about is the permission to experiment with different ways of being, and seeing what might work for them, and what may not.”

Ashworth says that if you can’t manage to get overseas for a break, but you’re dying for some down-time, the first question to ask, is: “How do you like to holiday?”

That is, do you like to get up and go hiking in mountains and exploring new cities? Or do you prefer to lounge by the pool with a cocktail and a good book?

“Understanding what you enjoy will help to generate ideas. Once you know what you’re aiming for, try thinking of new ways to achieve that feeling in your everyday life,” she says.

“This could be relaxing at a day spa, going on a hike, or taking a day trip to a new town.

“Plan ahead and imagine yourself doing that activity, not only will this increase motivation but also generate those same happiness chemicals we get in anticipation for holidays.”

Tips for a brain-rewiring break

In a day

Think about your values, says Ashworth. “For example, someone who values knowledge would find most meaning from visiting a museum or spending time reading a book, whereas a personal value of connection could mean catching up with friends would be of most benefit.”

Lean agrees. He lives in inner-Sydney, and says he recently spent a day walking through Haymarket, Hyde Park and the Opera House. “Even popping into new restaurants that we haven’t been to before can bring that sense of renewal.”

Trying to get outside, and into nature, is also a good way to give your brain a break, and come back feeling fresher.

In 1980, researchers began formulating the idea of voluntary versus involuntary attention. Involuntary attention is when external stimuli capture our minds, and voluntary is when we force ourselves to focus.

It’s this second type which can lead to fatigue, and it’s the central idea of Attention Restoration Theory.

The study by University of Michigan researchers Rachel and Stephen Kaplan suggested that spending time in nature requires more of our involuntary attention.

The natural world such as sunsets, bodies of water and even the sound of the wind draws our attention, giving our minds less capacity to fixate on things like work.

Another study published in the Nature Journal in 2024 sought to test the idea. Researchers asked 92 people to go for 40 minute walks, either in nature or in an urban environment, while wearing caps that measured activity in the mind.

The walkers were asked to complete tasks depleting their mental energy (counting backwards in increments of seven from 1000) before their walk. Then they were asked to do an attention-measuring task. The same task was completed at the end of the walk.

At the end of the 40 minutes, the nature walkers had an increase in executive attention – which covers things like memory, flexible thinking and attention – compared to the urban walkers.

In a week

If you’ve got a week off but don’t plan to travel, you still need to completely disconnect from work, Ashworth says. Now is the time to really try to turn off your notifications, and turn on your out-of-office, she says.

“Focusing on sleep, diet, and movement over the course of the week should be prioritised as it encourages longer lasting effects of taking a break. During the week, finding a balance of pleasurable activities and achievement-based activities is the key,” Ashworth says.

“For example, completing a project around the home followed by dinner at a favourite restaurant, or seeing your favourite band and running a few important errands.”

And really try to get some exercise in – outdoors if possible.

A 2022 study published in the BMC Public Health Journal sent 52 holiday-makers on a one-week holiday in Austria’s East Tyrol. One half played golf, the other did Nordic walking or e-biking. Then, they were asked questions about stress, wellbeing and sleep quality

The golfers experienced a 40 per cent improvement in wellbeing while the walkers a 19 per cent uptick. Stress also fell by about 44 per cent across both cohorts.

“Regular exercise appears to be a decisive factor in improving well-being during a vacation,” researchers from Tirol Kliniken hospital said. “Our data show that regular exercise enhanced well-being to a significant extent in both study groups, regardless of the type of activity.”

If you do go on holiday, beware “the tourist gaze”, which describes how tourists want to see the same things, take the same photos and repeat those particular performances, Lean says.

“But it’s the exploration side where the real benefits come in, rather than repeating what everyone else is doing.”