Switching off from work is hard for many of us, but research suggests vacation has a strong effect on well-being, and that genuinely not thinking about work while you’re away may be among the healthiest things you can do.With Thanksgiving and the holidays approaching, the column offers practical tips for leaving work at work and carving out moments for yourself, whether you’re working through the break, don’t have help on hand, or your time off looks very different.Healthline’s Editor-in-Chief, Robin Hough, reflects on what a missed deadline and a long weekend in Italy revealed about disconnecting from the desk, and why doing just that matters so much.
I missed a deadline last week. The piece you’re reading was supposed to be filed before I headed out on a long weekend to Italy for my wife’s birthday.
It’s a trip we try to take every November, one where we leave the kids behind with their Granny for a few days of relaxation and indulgence – for all of us. The kids and Granny get cookies, ice cream, and bedtime stories on tap. We get spritzes, pasta, and an all-too-rare chance to sleep in.
The main problem was I simply ran out of time to write the piece. An urgent stakeholder ask out of the blue, a couple of unanticipated work fire drills, and a long-standing evening social commitment earlier in the week made for a perfect storm, and something had to give.
The other problem and consequence was that I carried a chunk of guilt into the break.
It caught up with me at 6 am on the first morning, when I found myself drafting this column in my head. I should have been dozing peacefully. I continued to ruminate on my lengthy to-do list at work deep into day one as we headed from Venice into the Dolomites. My body was in Italy, but my brain was clearly still at my desk.
Switching off, particularly from work, is hard for most of us, and especially in an age of ubiquitous screens and wall-to-wall information competing for our attention. For me, that always-on reality plays a major role in the difficulties I have disconnecting from the daily grind.
I’m fortunate to love my job, and if I’m candid, I probably take a little too much of my identity from it. I hold on tight, and the phone in my pocket is an ever-present enabler.
A meme that has stuck with me over the years goes something along the lines of being an adult is staring at medium screens all day only to come home and stare at a little screen while a big screen is on in the background. The irony is not lost on me that I came across this rather withering take on modern life while scrolling on said little screen.
Regardless of the role the screen plays, psychologists who study employee well-being describe what I was missing for the early part of the weekend as “psychological detachment.” A state where you are genuinely able to not think about work while away from it. The science suggests it’s an important thing to work on.
A 2025 meta-analysis of 32 studies found that vacationing has a strong effect on well-being, and that the effect lasts longer than earlier research suggested. A second, smaller analysis of eight studies points to detaching from work, along with physical activity, as among the most helpful things to do while you’re off. In another study that tracked teachers during a two-week break, exhaustion, anxiety, and low mood all declined, while those who kept ruminating about work recovered less.
Whatever the science says, I know that for me the act of stepping away from work and being disciplined about not checking back in while I’m away is critical for my mental health and for staving off burnout. Getting out in nature and hiking or cycling or swimming keeps me present. It resets and recharges my batteries, and it tops up my creativity in a way that I find benefits what I am then able to bring back to the office.
Sure enough, as we drove deeper into the mountains on a crisp, blue-sky day, I could feel the golden autumnal hues and majestic rock formations drawing me in, closer to an elemental feeling of calm and happiness. That sense of equilibrium stayed with me all weekend, and while I’d be lying if I said my mind didn’t occasionally drift to my desk, it was fleeting, with the knowledge that all the things would be waiting for me when I got back. Just like this piece was.
With Thanksgiving on the horizon, and the holidays coming thick and fast thereafter, I’ll leave you with this bit of hard-earned advice: if your job is deeply entwined with your life and part of who you are, as mine is, time away can sometimes feel like a small act of disloyalty. It isn’t. In fact, it’s probably the most important thing you can do to remain faithful to your work ethic, and to yourself.
And if you’ll be working over the holidays, or you’re not working right now, or you don’t have the benefit of someone on hand to carry some of the load for you (shout out to all the Grannies out there), or your vacation looks very different from mine, that’s all okay. Find the pockets where and when you can: an evening, a walk, an hour in front of a screen, or better yet a book, and let work wait. Above all else, be kind to yourself. That’s how you really give yourself a break.
Robin Hough is the Editor-in-Chief of Healthline, and in addition to this regular Letter from the Editor column, he can be found every other Wednesday in our Healthline Wellness Wire newsletter.