Abstract
It is well established that leisure vacations markedly improve well-being, but that these effects are only of short duration. The present study aimed to investigate whether vacation effects would be more lasting if individuals practiced meditation during the leisure episode. Meditation is known to improve well-being durably, among others, by enhancing the mental faculty of mindfulness. In this aim, leisure vacations during which individuals practiced meditation to some extent were compared with holidays not including any formal meditation practice as well as with meditation retreats (characterized by intense meditation practice) utilizing a naturalistic observational design. Fatigue, well-being, and mindfulness were assessed ten days before, ten days after, and ten weeks after the stays in a sample of 120 individuals accustomed to meditation practices. To account for differences in the experience of these stays, recovery experiences were additionally assessed. Ten days after the stay, there were no differences except for an increase in mindfulness for those practicing meditation. Ten weeks after the stay, meditation retreats and vacations including meditation were associated with greater increases in mindfulness, lower levels of fatigue, and higher levels of well-being than an "ordinary" vacation during which meditation was not practiced. The finding suggests that the inclusion of meditation practice during vacation could help alleviate vacations' greatest pitfall, namely the rapid decline of its positive effects.
Highlights
It is well established that vacation, a several day respite from work, leads to a reduction of emotional exhaustion [1] and fatigue [2] both during vacation, as well as in the days thereafter
The three groups strongly differed regarding the hours of meditation practice during the leisure episodes (Table 1)
Meditation retreats generally were perceived as providing more opportunities for mastery but fewer opportunities for control and relaxation compared to vacations in general
Summary
It is well established that vacation, a several day respite from work, leads to a reduction of emotional exhaustion [1] and fatigue [2] both during vacation, as well as in the days thereafter.
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