How many vacations does our brain need to disconnect?

After a whole year working, you may think that no vacation period will be enough. Studies indicate that it takes more than 3.5 hours of free time per day to feel a good level of life satisfaction, but what is the lower limit with days off? Is there a minimum that guarantees brain rest?

The truth is that the brain is an organ that benefits from daily activity and challenges, but also deteriorates when these are excessive. The WHO reports, in fact, that in 2016, almost 400,000 people died from a stroke and 347,000 for ischemic heart disease, all related to the fact of having worked an excess of hours. They also ensure that working days of more than 55 hours per week significantly increase this fatal risk.

Therefore, it can be stated that vacations are a matter of mental and physical health, and not just an opportunity to travel and stop getting up early. Allowing the brain to rest from daily work routines is related to changes in the chemistry and neural activity of different regions. This is what we are going to explore here: how our brain takes advantage of that well-deserved disconnect.

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What effect does rest have on the brain?

Surely you have already noticed it subjectively, but the brain needs to rest. One of the key processes that takes place in the brain during rest is the reduction of activity in the stress response system.. Chronic stress and the constant demands that are experienced at work activate the axis hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), which is involved in the release of stress hormones, like cortisol. Well, during the holidays, the decrease in work demands and exposure to relaxing environments allow this response system to gradually stop working. Therefore, cortisol and other hormones related to nervous activation will have a lower presence in the blood, favoring the reduction of subjective stress.

Other beneficial effects of rest for the brain

Stress reduction, while valuable, is not the only benefit of taking a vacation. Rest periods also promote brain plasticity, since, through exposure to new activities and environments, different brain regions are stimulated and the formation of new neural connections is encouraged. This can lead to increased cognitive flexibility, creativity, and learning ability once we return to our daily routines, according to studies.

On the other hand, during rest periods the brain is allowed to carry out their chemical regulation processes normally again. An example of this is serotonin, the famous "happiness hormone", associated with feelings of well-being. This hormone is regulated thanks to the hypothalamus, in charge of biological rhythms and which is allowed to function with normality when the forced routines of working life are abandoned (getting up early, eating outside normal hours, etc).

In fact, a longitudinal study analyzed the use of antidepressants in a Swedish population over 10 years. He found that this was drastically reduced as the number of people on vacation increased.

Neuroimaging studies have shown that vacations can promote changes in the structure of the brain, such as increased volume in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus, regions associated with relaxation and emotional regulation. Likewise, it has been observed that vacations are associated with an increase in connectivity between different brain regions, which translates into an improvement in the integration of the information.

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The psychological disconnection during the holidays

As you can see, the brain benefits enormously from a good vacation, the kind in which it completely disconnects. Consequently, the psychological effects of long breaks are also seen in the following effects:

• Stress reduction and mood enhancement: Studies indicate that people who take vacations report lower levels of stress and depression, as well as higher life satisfaction compared to those who do not take time off regularly.
• Increased creativity: by taking distance from daily routines and exposing the brain to stimulation novel, the creation of new neural connections is favored and an increase in the capacity to generate new ideas. In addition, you also have more time to devote to creative activities.
• Strengthening interpersonal relationships: vacations offer the opportunity to spend quality time with our loved ones loved ones, which strengthens emotional bonds and improves the quality of relationships, having a lasting impact on well-being psychological.
• Improved productivity and work and academic performance: several studies have already shown that breaks and vacation periods help the brain to recover.
• Increased overall emotional and psychological well-being: By focusing on our well-being and enjoying the things that bring us joy, we experience an overall improvement in our physical, emotional, and mental.

How many vacations does our brain need to really disconnect?

Now we come to the crux of the matter. A couple of days is not enough for the brain to recover its functions to healthy levels, but it requires at least 7 days, according to studies. It is in this period that the brain manages to disconnect, that is, calm down the typical neural activity of work periods.

Experts in occupational psychology suggest, however, that a longer period of at least 15 days is needed to achieve a long-term lasting recovery. In this way, in addition to deactivating the hypothalamic-pituitary axis that produces the responses of stress, other pleasure-related activations are encouraged, and these connections are allowed to nod.

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The pre and post-holiday effect

The psychological effects of vacations are not limited to the period itself. An interesting study published in the journal Psicología y Salud found that there was a relationship between the reduction of the impact of stress on heart rate and the arrival of vacation. More specifically, that Stress already begins to reduce a week before the worker begins his vacation period.

But, as said before, long enough vacations ensure that the benefits they provide are maintained in the long term. This was found by another study published in 2020: despite the fact that stress returned to its initial state in the first week back from vacation, exhaustion did not show up until 3 weeks later.

The balance between quality and quantity

Although it is important to take longer vacations to completely disconnect, it is also essential to consider the quality of the free time we enjoy. Even if we only have a few days, we can maximize the psychological benefits by focusing on activities that give us genuine rest and pleasure.

However, not everyone has the privilege of taking a long vacation in which to completely disconnect. In those cases, psychology professionals recommend reserving days or periods dedicated exclusively to self-caresuch as exercising, reading, meditating or spending time in natural spaces.