Do you also wonder how often you need a vacation? We too! This is the answer…
After reading this, you'll be rushing to book your next vacation. Indeed, scientists have discovered how often do you need vacations?.
Americans, for example, take vacations too rarely. A study by the American Travel Association showed that in 2018, 768 million days remained unused vacation. More recent data, on the other hand, shows that the average American did not take as much as 9.5 days of vacation in 2021. While it may seem like just a few extra days here and there, the effects of overworking can take a toll on your health.
"If you don't take a vacation, with the intention of going on vacation or just simply resting, you can become overwhelmed and burn out," the psychotherapist is convinced. Joyce Marter.
Indeed, a recent study by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that overwork and burnout contributed to more than 745,000 deaths in just one year. For comparison, that's more than double the number of Americans who died from COVID-19 in the first year of the pandemic.
"Just as athletes need breaks from exercise, vacations are critical to health because they break the cycle of stress," warns Erin Engle, a psychologist at Columbia University's Irving Medical Center. Stress is a normal part of life, but dealing with it on a daily basis can have long-term consequences on our health. Especially if we never break the stress cycle.
Stress can affect the health of our teeth, as well as increase the risk of certain types of cancer, etc. An increased amount of stress is also harmful to our heart health. According to some data, an extended working week (longer than 55 hours) is said to represent a 55 percent higher risk of stroke and a 17 percent higher risk of heart attack.
So, how often do you need a vacation?
A more than 40-year study by the European Society of Cardiology found that people who take less than three weeks vacation per year, 37 % higher risk of premature death. The study, which began in 1974, initially wanted to measure the effect of physical exercise, dietary guidelines and smoking on the health of the observers, but after 15 years, the researchers found that despite a healthy lifestyle, the quality of life and the level of health of individuals is declining.
The participants took less and less time for themselves, and spent more and more time at work. And even though they took that hour to train, and they also ate fairly healthy, the fact that they didn't take time to rest and relax had a big impact on their overall health.
