Do wellness retreats actually work? What the studies show, and how long the lift lasts

Short answer: Partly. Time away usually lowers stress and lifts mood while you are there, but in studies of workers on vacation the lift began to fade within days of going back to work and was gone within three weeks to a month in several of them; in two studies of burnout, it was back to its earlier level three to four weeks after the vacation. Studies of retreats themselves are small, and one was funded by the retreat it studied. A retreat is not a treatment for any condition. If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988; if a life is in danger, call 911.

This guide is written from the studies and from what retreat centers publish. We are a publisher, not a clinic or a booking site, and we did not visit or test any retreat.

What research on retreats can and cannot tell you

Most of what is known about how long a break helps comes from studies of vacations, not retreats. Researchers have followed workers before, during and after time off; studies of wellness retreats are fewer and smaller.

A 2018 review of residential retreats found 23 studies with 2,592 participants. All of them reported some health benefit, but most had small samples, poorly described methods and little follow-up, and none reported adverse effects (Naidoo and colleagues, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2018).

The paper discloses that one author has been a paid presenter at a retreat and that RMIT University has received donations from hotel and retreat businesses for retreat research. So read the retreat evidence as encouraging but early. For one question, how long the lift lasts, the vacation studies are the better guide.

What a retreat can do while you are there

Time away usually lowers stress and lifts mood. A 2025 meta-analysis of 32 studies found that vacation has a large effect on well-being (Grant and colleagues, Journal of Applied Psychology, 2025), and in the burnout studies below, burnout fell during the break.

Sleep and mood are often better by the end. In 53 employees of an Austrian manufacturer, sleep quality and mood were better three days after a vacation (Strauss-Blasche and colleagues, Occupational Medicine, 2000), and at a week-long retreat in Australia, insomnia scores improved over the week. We found no study that tracked sleep or mood night by night during a retreat, so we cannot say how many nights it takes.

A retreat also gives you time to practice. In a review of meditation retreats, measures of mindfulness rose a lot; we found no study comparing that with a weekly class.

Not everyone gets the lift. Of 96 workers on a winter sports vacation, 60% improved substantially during and after the trip, 23% saw no effect and 17% felt worse (de Bloom and colleagues, Psychology and Health, 2011).

How long the lift lasts once you are back at work

In a study of 76 clerks, burnout dropped during a vacation, was part way back three days after it and all the way back three weeks after it (Westman and Eden, Journal of Applied Psychology, 1997). Among 87 blue-collar workers, burnout was back to its prevacation level four weeks later (Westman and Etzion, Psychology and Health, 2001).

Other studies point the same way. In 221 university employees, part of the benefit had faded two weeks after the vacation (Fritz and Sonnentag, Journal of Applied Psychology, 2006). In 131 teachers, lower burnout and higher work engagement faded out within one month (Kühnel and Sonnentag, Journal of Organizational Behavior, 2011). After breaks of 4 to 5 days, 80 workers felt better during the break, but the effect faded “rather quickly” over the 10 days the study followed them (de Bloom and colleagues, Stress and Health, 2012).

The reviews differ on speed. A 2009 meta-analysis of 7 studies found small benefits that soon faded after work resumed (de Bloom and colleagues, Journal of Occupational Health, 2009). The 2025 meta-analysis found an effect that does not fade as quickly as previously thought. The fade is the usual pattern, not a sign that the retreat failed.

What makes the lift last longer, and what cuts it short

The studies point to work. Among the 131 teachers, job demands after the vacation sped up the fade, while relaxing in their free time afterward delayed it (Kühnel and Sonnentag, 2011). Working during a short break lowered well-being after it (de Bloom and colleagues, 2012). In 60 workers followed for 8 to 10 weeks, some benefits persisted beyond the vacation, mainly in people with low work stress (Gump and colleagues, Psychology and Health, 2021).

Short breaks can last too. In a small randomized trial, 40 middle managers took four nights off, half in a hotel and half at home; both groups improved, and effects could still be detected 30 days (recovery) and 45 days (well-being and strain) later (Blank and colleagues, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2018).

Keeping a practice may help. In 120 experienced meditators, those who meditated on a retreat or on vacation had less fatigue and better well-being 10 weeks later than people on an ordinary vacation (Blasche and colleagues, PLOS ONE, 2021). That study was not randomized, and its participants averaged 10 years of practice.

Retreat studies: a week in Australia and six days at a resort

A week at a health retreat in Australia. Of 47 guests at a week-long retreat in Queensland, 37 joined the study, and almost every measure improved by the end of the week, including weight (1.6 kg lower on average) and blood pressure. At six weeks only 16 returned the questionnaires, and the gains in depression, anxiety and stress scores and in insomnia scores were no longer statistically significant, though still below where they started. There was no comparison group, the guests had the time and money for a luxury retreat, and the retreat funded the study (Cohen and colleagues, Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 2017).

Six days at a resort, with or without meditation. In a randomized trial, healthy women who simply relaxed improved as much at first as women on a meditation retreat, but the women new to meditation kept a clinically meaningful improvement in depressive symptoms 10 months later. The Chopra Foundation and Marc and Lynn Benioff funded the study, and the retreat was one the Chopra Center runs (Epel and colleagues, Translational Psychiatry, 2016).

Retreat studies: a short mindfulness retreat and meditation retreats overall

A five-day mindfulness retreat for stressed students. In a pilot trial, 60 Danish students were randomized to the program indoors, the same program in nature, or a control group. Stress fell by the end, but not by a statistically significant amount, and the change at three months was not significant either (Djernis and colleagues, Healthcare, 2021).

Meditation retreats overall. A 2017 meta-analysis of 21 studies with 2,912 people found moderate effects that held at follow-up, with large effects on anxiety, depression and stress measures, though the studies differed a lot (Khoury and colleagues, Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 2017).

The studies at a glance

Each cell comes from the paper. The last column gives the last time point the paper reports, in its own terms.

Vacation and time-off studies

Study	Who and how many	Design	What was measured	How long it lasted
Westman and Eden, 1997	76 clerks	Twice before, once during and twice after a vacation	Job stress, burnout	Burnout part way back 3 days after, fully back 3 weeks after
Westman and Etzion, 2001	87 blue-collar employees, central Israel	Before and after a vacation, and 4 weeks later	Job stress, burnout, absenteeism	Burnout back to its prevacation level at 4 weeks
Fritz and Sonnentag, 2006	221 university employees	1 week before, 2 days and 2 weeks after	Health complaints, burnout, performance, effort	Partial fade by 2 weeks
Kühnel and Sonnentag, 2011	131 teachers	Once before, three times after	Work engagement, burnout	Faded out within one month
de Bloom and colleagues, 2012	80 workers on 4 to 5 day breaks	Before, during, return day, days 3 and 10 after	Health and well-being	Faded rather quickly
de Bloom and colleagues, 2011	96 workers, winter sports vacation	2 weeks before, during, 1, 2 and 4 weeks after	Health, mood, fatigue, tension, energy, satisfaction	60% improved substantially; 23% no effect; 17% a negative effect
Strauss-Blasche and colleagues, 2000	53 employees, Austria	10 days before, 3 days after; a small group at 5 weeks	Physical complaints, sleep quality, mood	Sleep and mood better at 3 days; fewer complaints at 5 weeks
Blank and colleagues, 2018	40 middle managers	Randomized: 4 nights in a hotel or at home	Stress, recovery, strain, well-being	Still detected at 30 days (recovery) and 45 days (well-being, strain)
Gump and colleagues, 2021	60 workers	Repeated measures over 8 to 10 weeks	Affect, aggression, social support, work stress	Some benefits persisted, mainly with low work stress
de Bloom and colleagues, 2009	7 studies	Meta-analysis	Health and well-being	Small effect that soon faded after work resumed
Grant and colleagues, 2025	32 studies, 256 effect sizes	Meta-analysis	Employee well-being	Large effect that does not fade as quickly as previously thought

Retreat studies

Study	Who and how many	Design	What was measured	How long it lasted
Cohen and colleagues, 2017	37 of 47 guests, 1-week retreat in Queensland; 16 at 6 weeks	Observational, no comparison group; funded by the retreat	Weight, blood pressure, depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, mood	Most measures better at 1 week; depression, anxiety, stress and insomnia gains no longer significant at 6 weeks
Epel and colleagues, 2016	102 healthy women, plus regular meditators	Randomized: 6 days at a resort, meditation or relaxing	Gene expression, well-being, distress	Equal gains at first; novices kept better depression scores at 10 months
Blasche and colleagues, 2021	120 people used to meditating	Observational: retreats, vacations with or without meditation	Fatigue, well-being, mindfulness	At 10 weeks, less fatigue and better well-being with meditation
Djernis and colleagues, 2021	60 stressed Danish students	Pilot randomized trial: 5-day mindfulness program or control	Perceived stress, self-compassion	Stress drop not significant at the end or at 3 months
Khoury and colleagues, 2017	21 studies, 2,912 people	Meta-analysis of meditation retreats	Anxiety, depression, stress, quality of life	Moderate effects, maintained at follow-up
Naidoo and colleagues, 2018	23 studies, 2,592 people	Systematic review of residential retreats	Many, mostly self-reported	Benefits reported from right after to five years; weak methods

What the evidence does not support

Treatment. A retreat is not a treatment for anxiety, depression or any other condition. NIMH names psychotherapy and medication as “the two main treatments for anxiety” (NIMH), and NCCIH says not to use meditation or mindfulness to replace conventional care or to put off seeing a health care provider (NCCIH). If you want treatment for a diagnosed condition, start with clinical care; our comparison of a retreat versus therapy covers when therapy is the answer.

Detox. NCCIH says a 2015 review found no compelling research that detox diets help with weight management or remove toxins from the body, and that there have been no studies of the long-term effects of detox programs (NCCIH). Our guide to spotting a nonsense wellness claim covers the language to watch for.

Lasting weight loss. In the Queensland study, guests weighed 1.6 kg less after a week on average, but weight was not measured afterward. NCCIH says diets that severely restrict calories usually do not lead to lasting weight loss.

A permanent change from a few days away. In most of these studies the effect faded within weeks. The longest-lasting effects came from women who learned meditation on a resort retreat (10 months) and from people who meditated during their stay (10 weeks).

Who should talk to a clinician first

• In a crisis. If you are thinking about suicide or self-harm, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is free, confidential and open 24/7, and you do not have to be suicidal to call. If a life is in danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room (NIMH). A retreat is not the place for a crisis.
• If you see a therapist or psychiatrist. Tell them before you book. The Insight Meditation Society asks people in therapy to tell their therapist and follow their advice, and says a silent retreat “may not be appropriate” after recent considerable trauma, with significant depression or anxiety, or with strong PTSD. Spirit Rock says people should be “in a stable period of mental well-being” before an intensive silent retreat, and Dhamma.org does not recommend its Vipassana courses for people with significant mental health issues.
• If you take medication. Keep taking it. NIMH says not to stop a prescribed medication, even if you feel better, without a health care provider’s help (NIMH).

If you are not sure where to start, NIMH says a primary care provider can do an initial mental health screening and refer you to a mental health professional.

Meditation and detox programs: the risks to know

• If the program centers on meditation. A review of 83 studies with 6,703 participants found adverse events in 8.3% of people overall, most often anxiety, including in people with no history of mental health problems (Farias and colleagues, Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 2020). In a US survey of 434 people who had meditated, 10.4% had an unwanted effect that lasted a month or more, and childhood adversity raised the risk (Goldberg and colleagues, Psychotherapy Research, 2022). For breathwork, see is breathwork safe?
• If it includes a detox or a colon cleanse. NCCIH says colon cleansing can have side effects, some of them serious, and that harm is more likely with a history of gastrointestinal disease, colon surgery, severe hemorrhoids, kidney disease or heart disease. Some unpasteurized juices can make people sick.

How to keep more of the benefit

Pick one practice before you leave and keep only that: a short morning practice, an earlier bedtime, a walk outdoors or a phone-free first hour. In the studies, people who meditated during their stay, or who kept relaxing in their free time afterward, held the benefit longer.

Plan for the workload you return to. Heavy job demands after the break sped the fade in the teachers’ study, so it helps to decide before you go back how you will handle the workload. Try not to work during the break itself.

Expect the fade. It is the usual result, and it is not a reason to think the retreat was a waste or that you did it wrong.

Does a longer or more expensive trip work better?

We found no study that compares one long trip with several short ones, or retreats by price.

The nearest evidence: in the trial of 40 managers, four nights at home lowered stress about as much as four nights in a hotel, though strain fell more in the hotel group, and the authors wrote that environmental effects seem to play a minor role. Short breaks of 4 to 5 days can also fade quickly. The 2025 meta-analysis found that vacation length is one of the factors that changes the size of the effect; its abstract does not say in which direction.

If the budget would hurt, a cheaper break may do much of the same. Our local versus destination comparison covers the practical trade, and what a retreat costs covers prices.

FAQ: do wellness retreats work

Is there real research behind wellness retreats? Some, and most of it is small. A 2018 review found 23 residential-retreat studies that all reported benefits, but most had small samples and little follow-up. A 2017 study of guests at one Australian retreat had 37 participants, no comparison group and funding from the retreat.

How long do the benefits of a retreat last? In vacation studies, the lift began to fade within days of going back to work and was gone within three weeks to a month in several of them. In two studies of burnout, it was back to its earlier level three to four weeks after the vacation. Some effects lasted longer: a trial of a four-night break still detected effects at 45 days.

Does a meditation retreat last longer than a vacation? Possibly. In a randomized resort trial, women new to meditation kept a clinically meaningful improvement in depressive symptoms 10 months later, compared with women who only relaxed. In experienced meditators, meditating during a stay went with less fatigue 10 weeks later. The first study was funded by the Chopra Foundation and Marc and Lynn Benioff, and the second was not randomized.

Are expensive retreats more effective? We found no study that compares retreats by price. In one small trial, a four-night break at home lowered stress about as much as one in a hotel, though strain fell more in the hotel group.

Can a retreat help with burnout? It can lower burnout while you are away, but in two studies burnout was back three to four weeks after people returned to work, and heavy job demands after the break sped the fade. Burnout is not the same as depression: Mayo Clinic says burnout can raise the risk of depression and that the two need different treatments. If low mood lasts, see a doctor. Our guide to retreats for anxiety and burnout covers how to choose one safely.

Is a meditation retreat safe if I have anxiety? Talk to your clinician first. Anxiety was the most commonly reported adverse event of meditation in a review of 83 studies, and the Insight Meditation Society says a silent retreat may not be appropriate for people with significant depression or anxiety.

The bottom line on whether retreats work

Yes, for a short break from stress, with the caveat that the lift fades within weeks once work resumes. No, as a treatment, a detox or a lasting change on its own.

Go in for the break, keep one practice afterward, and plan for the workload you return to. If anxiety or low mood is running your days, see a doctor or a licensed therapist first, and call or text 988 in a crisis.

When you’re ready to choose one, our buyer’s checklist for first-timers covers how to pick well, what to expect on the ground covers the format, and the modality guides explain the practices you’ll meet.

Related reading on retreat evidence

• Wellness retreats for anxiety and burnout: how to choose safely, and when not to go
• Wellness retreat vs therapy: which do you actually need?
• Silent meditation retreats in the US: Vipassana, Zen and insight centers compared
• Is breathwork safe? The risks, and who should be careful