Delicious food, delectable weather, an unending state of zen… Perhaps that’s the stress-free utopia that comes to mind when you think of a wellness holiday. However, according to new research by Asics, a wellness holiday is not the golden ticket to better mental health. What is? Just 15 minutes of movement a day – and no passport or costly long-haul journey is required.

Here’s what the study involved, why the findings matter and how something as simple and accessible as 15 minutes of running does more wonders for your mood than checking into a resort.

What did the study discover?

According to Euromonitor International, the global demand for wellness holidays increased by 33% in the last year – and Asics, through its new ‘Everyday Escape Research’, wanted to assess whether these retreats actually fulfilled holidaymakers’ hopes.

What everyone’s reading

Asics’ research, conducted in August 2025, surveyed 11,000 people across ages, genders and 16 markets around the world – from the UK to Australia, Sweden to Singapore – who had taken a wellness holiday or retreat in the past year. It discovered that Brits alone, on average, travelled 1,577km for their wellness retreats and spent £1,191 in the process – but that these holidays didn’t always hit the mark. In fact, 63% said that that their wellness holiday didn’t live up to expectations, while 72% said that the wellness benefits that they gained from their holiday faded when they left or shortly after they returned home. Over a quarter (27%) even said that the cost of the trip actually generated stress – and a similar proportion (24%) felt that the stress of long-distance travel marred the experience.

To drill into things further, Asics also conducted the ‘Everyday Escape Trial’, led by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King’s College London and the University of Vienna. This trial studied 17 people from the UK, US and Australia who had attended a wellness holiday or retreat in the last year – but this time, it asked them to do some exercise, too. Specifically, for a 15-day period in August 2025, these 17 participants were asked to take a 15-minute movement break each day, whether that movement was a run, a walk or a stretch.

The participants reported that their overall mental health was 21% better after the 15-minute daily movement trial than it was after their wellness holidays. What’s more, 71% said that daily movement was more effective at reducing stress than a wellness holiday, while 65% found it to be a greater mood enhancer. Plus, 73% said that the mental health benefits lasted longer after the movement breaks than they did after their wellness vacations, no matter where they were in the world.

To be exact, the researchers found that 15 minutes and nine seconds of daily exercise was enough to trigger a measurable mental uplift. This is a tiny commitment that, as this survey shows, has a big bearing on your mental (and indeed physical) wellbeing.

The psychological benefits of physical activity

According to Dr Stubbs, speaking to Runner’s World UK, most participants in the Everyday Escape Trial chose to go for easy runs or fast walks during their 15-minute daily movement breaks. This not only elevated their heart rates, but also improved the very way that their brains worked.

‘Running is one of the most powerful ways to boost your mental health – and science backs it up,’ he says, pointing to various other, related studies that he has co-authored. ‘First, it improves the size and connectivity in one of our key emotional processing areas of the brain: the hippocampus. Running also helps to improve the size of our brains generally and strengthen areas that help us to deal with stress, including the anterior cingulate cortex.

‘Even short runs – lasting just 15 to 30 minutes – trigger the release of mood-regulating chemicals like serotonin and neurotrophic factors like BDNF, which support brain function and emotional resilience,’ he adds. ‘Emerging research also suggests that running may improve gut microbiome diversity, which plays a surprising role in mood and mental wellbeing.

‘The research is also clear – when it comes to exercise, more is better than some and some is better than none,’ concludes Dr Stubbs. ‘The powerful impact of running on the mind happens within just 15 minutes.’

How to take an Everyday Escape

In line with World Mental Health Day, Asics is now encouraging us all to take our own 15-minute, mood-boosting daily movement break – an ‘Everyday Escape’.

woman standing confidently in casual athletic wear outdoorsAsics

Natasha Rothwell: actor, writer, wellness advocate and Everyday Escape Concierge for Asics

‘Sure, you can spend thousands of dollars or fly halfway across the world to feel better, or you can just step outside and move your body,’ says actor, writer and wellness advocate Natasha Rothwell, Asics’ Everyday Escape Concierge and star of The White Lotus. ‘Your Everyday Escape could be a walk, a stretch, a dance in your kitchen. It’s free, it’s simple and it’s yours. Wellness shouldn’t be a luxury. It should be something that we can all access, every day. When we move, we feel better. And that’s the kind of escape that everyone deserves.’

When you share your Everyday Escape on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook or LinkedIn using #EverydayEscape, Asics will make a contribution of £5 to mental health charity Mind. The #EverydayEscape challenge will run until 6 December 2025, with contributions capped at £20,000 in the UK.

You find out more about Asics’ Everyday Escape campaign – and how to get involved – here.

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Rachel is Runner’s World UK’s Senior Content Writer, covering all running-related topics from training advice and gear reviews to race reports and elite runner profiles. Formerly a Website Content Editor and Content Manager at London Marathon Events and The Running Channel respectively, Rachel is well-versed in the running scene and understands what it takes to put on some of the biggest running events in the world. A 2:50 marathoner, she would much rather run 26.2 miles than race a 5K and has currently completed 11 marathons, including five of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors in a sub-3 time. She now hopes to run the Tokyo Marathon to complete the set and become a Six Star Finisher.