Here are 3 ways to fully relax while traveling, according to a psychologist

Monica Virga, a 38-year-old entrepreneur based in Norway, found it unsettling to go from working 20 hours a day to almost zero while on vacation, she said.

“I would end up going back into my emails and checking things with a job I didn’t need to be at,” she said. “I would end up coming home and realizing that I didn’t even feel like I was going on vacation because I was picking up all these unhealthy habits.”

But now that has changed.

Before a trip to Morocco in October two years ago, Virga began her preparation.

“At the end of August, I started doing a little extra work once a week for a few hours,” she said. She also packs her things three to four weeks in advance to avoid last minute stress.

His approach echoes the advice of American psychologist Guy Winch, a member of the American Psychological Association, who told CNBC Travel that planning ahead is essential. He shared three tips for fully resting and recharging on vacation.

It can take days — sometimes weeks — for people to slow down after being constantly busy, Winch said.

“What usually happens is people try to get ahead at work before they go on vacation,” he said. “Before they leave the house…they are already stressed and tired.”

That’s why, on short getaways, travelers can find themselves back in the rhythm of vacation just as the trip ends.

The solution is not to stop everything, but to return to a slower pace.

“So you’re not in fifth gear, you’re in third gear,” he said. “It’s a little easier and quicker to go first.”

Vacations are relaxing when activities are planned according to each person’s physical and mental abilities. One way to do this is to focus on experiences, Winch said.

When Virga, mother of two young children, goes on a trip, she no longer packs it with activities. Instead, she seeks calming experiences for the family.

This includes “A childcare component, where I could go get a massage or do yoga, and my kids are taken care of,” she said.

It’s no longer about checking off a bucket list, but doing activities that interest them, she says.

“I firmly believe that traditional vacations are not designed for parents, like the idea of ​​going on a cruise ship…even to an all-inclusive resort,” she said. “Kids are eating all this food that’s really bad for them, there’s so much overstimulation.”

Managing expectations is also an essential part of making vacation a relaxing experience. Marissa Goldstein, a mother of four, believes that as soon as parents start looking for the perfect vacation, they are setting themselves up for failure, she said.

“They’re going to end up…either feeling like I’m a horrible parent or like my kids are horrible,” she said. “(Or think) ‘Why can’t we travel like everyone else I see on Instagram?'”

His family travels without a fixed plan.

“We just realized…we get lost for the day and we have no expectations,” Goldstein said.

To keep her kids engaged, she uses ChatGPT to create destination scavenger hunts while making sure it’s youth-friendly.

“Our best experiences are when it’s convenient, when you get dirty, when you want to have fun, and it’s not expensive, luxurious things,” she said.

Although she enjoys a luxurious vacation, it’s not a deal with kids, she added.

Vacations are only restorative when we psychologically detach from work, said psychologist Winch.

Indeed, taking a vacation not only means traveling to a different destination, but also taking a mental break, he added.

However, mentally leaving your job can be difficult, and for independent business owners like Goldstein, it can seem almost impossible.

“When you work for yourself, it’s very difficult to detach yourself from work,” Goldstein said. One way she has found to get around this problem is to alternate working with her husband while he travels.

Winch says he takes a similar approach. “I can’t completely detach myself… I have to react from time to time,” he said, but “at a very specific moment that is not interrupted by other things.”

It highlights the importance of responding to work when it suits us rather than promising at a certain time. “Schedule it when it’s convenient for you,” he said.