Why Travel for Wellness: ASICS Reveals 15 Minutes of Movement Can Boost Your Mood More Than a Week at a Wellness Retreat

This World Mental Health Day, ASICS invites everyone to take an Everyday Escape, showing you don't need to travel far or spend big to take your body and mind to a happier place.

• ASICS enlists Natasha Rothwell to champion movement as a more accessible and effective alternative to wellness holidays.
• Global study of 11,000 people shows wellness holiday benefits often fade quickly, with travel and costs adding stress.
• In a new Everyday Escape trial, participants who took a simple daily 15-minute movement break reported a 21% greater uplift in their overall mental state compared to their wellness holiday.
• What's more, 71% said daily exercise was more effective at reducing stress than their wellness holiday, while 65% found it more mood-enhancing.

LONDON, Oct. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As stress levels rise, wellness travel is booming—but it often comes with long flights, hefty price tags, and treatments that don't always deliver lasting results. This World Mental Health Day, ASICS and its newest wellbeing ambassador, Natasha Rothwell, are inviting the world to take an Everyday Escape – a simple 15 minute movement break - that is proven to transport you to a happier place and deliver more lasting benefits than a week at a wellness retreat.^[1]

According to Euromonitor, the global demand for wellness holidays has surged by 33% in the last year ^[2], with the Global Wellness Institute finding that people spend an average of $1,764 for a week away, 41% more than standard travel.^[3] However, new global research by ASICS^[4], surveying 11,000 people who recently took a wellness holiday, reveals that whilst people travel on average 1,920km for their wellness holidays^[4], they don't always deliver. Two-thirds (67%) said their wellness holiday failed to meet all expectations, and an equal number (67%) reported that any wellness benefits faded as soon as they left the retreat or shortly after returning home. For some, the experience even added to their stress levels, nearly a third (32%) cited cost, and a quarter (25%) said long travel distances were stress-inducing.

In contrast, ASICS' research highlights the transformative power of movement on mental wellbeing, showing that just 15 minutes and 9 seconds of exercise can trigger a measurable mental uplift.^[5] In a new Everyday Escape trial, overseen by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King's College London, participants who took a simple daily 15-minute movement break reported a 21% greater uplift in their overall mental state compared to their wellness holiday. In fact, 71% said daily movement was more effective at reducing stress, 65% found it more mood-enhancing and 73% experienced longer-lasting mental wellbeing benefits than after their recent wellness holiday.

To help more people to find their happy place through movement, ASICS has enlisted Natasha Rothwell, actor, writer, and wellness advocate, as its Everyday Escape Concierge. Rothwell will share inspiration to help people weave small but meaningful moments of movement into their daily routines, making wellness accessible and affordable for all.

Natasha Rothwell, ASICS' Everyday Escape Concierge, said: "I truly believe in the power of movement, not just for our bodies, but for our minds. 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. 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 we can all access, every day. When we move, we feel better. And that's the kind of escape everyone deserves."

Across the world, ASICS is encouraging people to take an #EverydayEscape and feel the benefits. People who take a 15-minute movement break are encouraged to share their Everyday Escape and help raise funds for mental wellbeing charities around the world. 

Dr Brendon Stubbs, a leading researcher in exercise and mental health from King's College London, said: "It's incredible to see the impact 15 minutes of movement can have on mental wellbeing. The Everyday Escape trial shows that small movement breaks can boost mood and reduce stress more effectively than a wellness holiday. All the participants said they'd be continuing to take movement breaks moving forward, and 81% said they're now prioritising movement for their wellbeing over attending another retreat. A week away may give a short-term boost, but exercise delivers long-term benefits."

Gary Raucher, Head of Global Marketing for ASICS comments : "At ASICS, we believe that you don't need to go far to leave it all behind. That's why we're inviting everyone to take an Everyday Escape, a simple 15-minute movement break, to take their body and mind to a happier place. At ASICS, we've always championed the power of movement, however small, to help people feel better. It's the reason we were founded and why we're called ASICS – an acronym for the Latin 'Anima Sana in Corpore Sano' or 'Sound Mind In A Sound Body'. We hope people will join us on World Mental Health Day and take an Everyday Escape, because when you move your body, you move your mind. "

To take your Everyday Escape, visit: asics.com/everydayescape.

NOTES TO EDITORS

¹ The ASICS Everyday Escape Trial ran from the 4^th to 18^th August 2025, led by Dr Brendon Stubbs of King's College London & University of Vienna. The trial studied 17 people from the UK, US and Australia who had attended a wellness holiday/retreat in the last year. All completed consent forms before taking part.

The Everyday Escape trial (n=17) should be seen as an early proof-of-concept study, reinforced by a global survey of 11,000 people and aligned with external scientific evidence.

² Euromonitor International: Traveller Segmentation 2024. Available here: 
Traveler Segmentation: Unlocking Innovation and Value in Wellness Tourism - Euromonitor.com

³ Global Wellness Institute : A Decade of Wellness Tourism. Available here:
 https://globalwellnessinstitute.org/global-wellness-institute-blog/2024/03/25/a-decade-of-wellness-tourism-first-ever-compilation-of-10-years-of-market-data/  

⁴  The Everyday Escape Research was conducted in August 2025 and explored the experiences and perceptions of those who had taken a wellness holiday/retreat in the past year. 11,000 people were surveyed across 16 markets including the UK, the US, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, France, Germany, UAE, Italy, Brazil, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Indonesia, Spain and Sweden. Each market was nationally representative by age and gender.

⁵ The ASICS State of Mind score is out of 100, calculated based on the accumulative mean scores across ten cognitive and emotional traits – positive, content, relaxed, focused, composed, resilient, confident, alert, calm, energized.

About ASICS
At ASICS, our five letters have meaning. ASICS is an acronym for the Latin Anima Sana In Corpore Sano or a Sound Mind in a Sound Body. And since our founding in 1949, our purpose has been to help people achieve a Sound Mind in a Sound Body.

Right from the very start, our founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka, saw that sport and movement had the power to lift spirits, project positivity, and propel people and whole communities forward. We still believe this.

And we believe our purpose is more relevant today than ever before. Stress and anxiety are at record levels, yet we know sport and movement can have a positive impact. Which is why we remain focused on supporting more people to move for positive mental health.

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SOURCE ASICS