A holiday lifts you, then fades. Plan the next one.

A 2023 meta-analysis pooled 13 studies with 1,428 people. Wellbeing rose after a holiday (a small effect, d = 0.25), and was back to its usual level after about the first week at work. Life satisfaction barely moved. An earlier meta-analysis of 7 studies found the same pattern: a gain that fades soon after return.

Length mattered less than expected: in the 2023 analysis, longer holidays did not bring bigger gains, though almost no study looked at trips over three weeks. In a study of 54 employees on long summer holidays, what went with the lift was relaxation, savouring, feeling in control and good sleep. In a study of short trips, working during the holiday reduced the benefit afterwards.

In a Dutch study of 1,530 adults, people who took a holiday were happier than people who did not, before they left. After the trip most were no happier than anyone else; only those who called their trip "very relaxed" stayed happier for a while. Separate studies found that waiting for an experience feels better than waiting for a thing.

This argues for a trip that is restful, not one that is crammed. In Marrakech that can mean a riad with a courtyard to come back to at midday, rather than four sights a day. Wakha's pages try to take the planning stress out (fair prices, getting around), which is the part of a trip that eats into relaxing.

It also argues for having the next trip on the calendar. The anticipation is part of the benefit, and Morocco is a 3 to 4 hour flight from much of Western Europe, so a long weekend works.