5 top tips to hold onto your holiday high

We all know the feeling. We’re on holiday, we’ve left our responsibilities at the door, the sun is warm on our skin, and our senses are heightened with the sounds and smells we’ve been anticipating. The views are picture-perfect, we’ve made loads of plans and the possibilities are endless. It’s both a time of excitement and reflection: where we have the space and time to not only be more present in the moment, but also for us to reflect on our life whilst we create new memories.

According to research conducted at University College London*, us Brits reach our peak holiday high just 43 hours into our travels. Fortunately we hold onto it a little longer than that after we return, but not long enough by far. By the best part of day four, the feel-good is already starting to slip away…and with it all those grand plans of eating better, getting fitter, etc, etc…

The only thing that will loop you back into the pre-trip thrill will be of course booking another trip (ha!), but if it’s too soon, keep reading for our top tips to keep your holiday high…

High on the list of the most important sensory experiences we’ll have while away: the food and drink that we’ll be sampling on our holiday. Whether it’s memories slurping a fragrant bowl of pho on a plastic stool in Hanoi, pulling up your sleeves and getting stuck into a food workshop in Thailand,  or dining with a local family in Indonesia the travel memories we make through food are some of the most special. Bring back those moments by recreating some of your favourite dishes or drinks. Even if they’re miles away from the original, it’s still great fun to research the local cuisine or even discovering a recipe from a local restaurant you loved. Sure to be a hit  This is guaranteed to get you talking about the night (or nights!) you enjoyed it.

Music is one of the most evocative triggers for memory, and you can be instantly sucked back into a spectacular journey, vibrant beach bar or wonderful cultural experience. Whether it’s the music you chose to play on your travels or the most popular tunes from radio stations you happened upon, this is one of our go-to’s for keeping our holiday highs. Of course, it helps to have a little boogie at the same time!

Take your time over this, but make sure you start shortly after you return, otherwise the intention is too quickly forgotten. Pulling out all the best shots you took and compiling them into a beautiful reminder of your travels will take you right back to the heart of your holiday feeling. We’re many of us a little bit guilty of taking a multitude of pictures and videos and storing them without bothering to filter out the dross, but scheduling this in a few times a week means you can have many little virtual holidays!

We’re really bad at this! When we’re at home there are always distractions and chores, even just the day-to-day cooking and cleaning, which we find difficult to switch off from. Yet when we’re on holiday this feels like the easiest thing in the world, whether it’s sitting for hours with a book at the beach, spending time gazing effortlessly at a beautiful view or immersing ourselves in daydreams, doing very little at all. Try making a point of planning some time in to do just this now that you’re back. So turn off your social media, don’t check in with the news, put down your to-do list and sit in the garden simply to contemplate, curl up on the sofa with a good book or take a guilt-free afternoon nap. It will do wonders for your wellbeing…

The research* identified that one of the key factors in creating your high is the experience of holiday ‘firsts’. Novelty, or the quality of something being new, is incredibly rewarding and this is particularly true of places. And as rewards trigger the dopamine receptors in your brain to release a rush of positive feelings, why save this just for your adventures abroad? Try it at home too – plan with friends to visit a city you’ve never been to or go camping with your loved ones for a spontaneous weekend. Just grab the bus, train or car and go!

… Try a little brainstorming with your friends or family. Anticipation of your next trip works in much the same way for the dopamine effect as experiencing it in real time. In other words, just thinking about where you might go and making plans to put it all together makes you happy because it activates the reward system in your brain. So let your imagination run wild!

*University College London Affective Brain Lab, May 2019.