In a 2016 survey from NPR, Harvard and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, nearly half (49%) of American workers said they can’t vacation because their workloads are too heavy. And 42% of those survey respondents said they felt they couldn’t take all their paid vacation days because there weren’t enough people to cover for them.
Research shows that Americans work more, work longer hours, take less vacation and retire later than any other nation in the world. No wonder we are so stressed and so many people are unhappy; so many of us have our work-life balance out of whack. A little R&R can go a long way to reset your body, mind & soul, leading to greater happiness, higher productivity at work and less stress. Unplug from work. Go hiking, read a good book, lounge by the pool, do whatever fills your cup. What you do is not important, the simple act of removing yourself physically and mentally from work is the key.
Proven Health Benefits of Taking a Vacation
It should come as no surprise that taking time away from the job can have physical and psychological health benefits. People who take vacations have lower stress, less risk of heart disease, a better outlook on life, and more motivation to achieve goals. If you still need a little convincing, here are a few additional benefits of taking time away from work.
Improved Productivity
Anyone who has worked knows the toll the daily grind can take on your ability to be productive at work. You can go for a while only having 1 or 2 days off a week but eventually, you wear yourself out and your ability to do your job well suffers.
Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts. Professional services firm Ernst & Young conducted an internal study of its employees and found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation time employees took, their year-end performance ratings improved 8 percent. What’s more, frequent vacationers were significantly less likely to leave the firm. Another study by the Boston Consulting Group found that high-level professionals who were required to take time off were significantly more productive overall than those who spent more time working. When you’re more productive, you’re happier, and when you’re happier, you excel at what you do.
Improved Mental Health
With cell phones and email, it seems like we are connected to our jobs 24/7 365. Unless we deliberately disconnect, work can seep into our lives “after hours” preventing us from relaxing and unwinding like we need to.
Neuroscientists have found that brain structure is altered by chronic exposure to the stress hormone cortisol, which can be a major contributing factor to anxiety and depression. Over time, this can mean it’s actually harder to get your mind to switch into relaxation mode—even outside of work. Take some time off to beef up these neural connections. Feelings of calm arise from time away from work, which allows the body and mind to heal in ways that it couldn’t if it were still under pressure.
Vacations can reduce anxiety and stress, as well as improve mood. Just removing yourself from the everyday environments and activities you associate with stress is paramount to your good health. In a Canadian study of nearly 900 lawyers, vacations—even short ones—reduced depression and helped lessen job stress. In a Japanese study, a short, 3-day vacation reduced participants’ perceived levels of stress and reduced cortisol levels.
Another study of rural women from Wisconsin in 2005 revealed that those who vacationed once every two years or less were more likely to be depressed and unhappy with their marriage than those who vacationed twice a year or more. Likewise, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh’s Mind Body Center who surveyed about 1,400 people found that taking vacations, as a leisure activity, contributed to higher positive emotional levels and less depression.
People often focus on physical health, with diet and exercise, and often neglect mental health. While the two are intertwined, the best way to care for your mental health is to unplug, disconnect and be present. The next time your go on vacation, leave your laptop at home and set up your auto email reply. Work will be waiting for you when you return.
Improved Physical Health
Ongoing, chronic stress, can cause or exacerbate many serious health problems, including: Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and personality disorders. Cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, high blood pressure, abnormal heart rhythms, heart attacks, and stroke.
Several studies have highlighted the cardiovascular health benefits of taking a vacation. In one, men at risk for heart disease who skipped vacations for five consecutive years were 30 percent more likely to suffer heart attacks than those who took at least a week off each year. Even missing one year’s vacation was associated with a higher risk of heart disease. Studies find similar results with women: Women who took a vacation once every six years or less were almost eight times more likely to develop heart disease, have a heart attack, or die of a coronary-related cause than those who took at least two vacations a year. These statistics are not to scare you but to persuade you that time off is important to your health in the long run.
In general, the researchers have found that the more time people spend without a vacation, the worse their stress levels are.
Now that you have read about the benefits of vacationing, I wanted to share a few more photos from our recent get-away. We spent a lovely week on the NC Coast with family. I normally work at least a few hours on vacation but I made a pact with myself and my kids that I would not work this time. And I didn’t. It was the most “unplugged” I have been on a vacation in eons. I read a great book and spent some time every morning reading my Bible. I swam and played with my kids. My husband and I took them Kayaking, fishing and shell hunting. I got more sleep than I have gotten in months. I felt relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to get back to “real life” when we returned home. In fact, my first day back to work I was super productive and had trouble winding down.
“The mental and physical benefits of taking time off work include improved sleep, a better headspace, more clarity and increased creativity,” explains Dr. Kathryn Smerling, a New York City based psychologist. “By taking time off, you’ll find a renewed sense of purpose, more energy to carry out tasks and in general, an overall sense of happiness.”
I can definitely attest to that.
If you don’t have a vacation planned, start brainstorming. Research has shown that just planning a vacation can make you happier! In fact, the mood-boosting effect of thinking about an upcoming trip has a more noticeable effect on your happiness than any post-vacation attitude shift, according to the same research.
Relax, Reset and Renew.