A Prescription for Your Health

November 20, 2008

When was the last time you took a vacation? Was your vacation more than just a long-weekend or just a stay-at-home to run errands? How did you feel after your vacation-–stressed or rejuvenated? As the year is drawing to a close and an estimated 47.5 million Americans will not use all of their annual earned vacation days, we are posing the question: do people know the importance of taking a vacation?

 

Research shows that the long-term benefits associated with taking regular vacations contribute to better health, relationships, and job performance. In an effort to highlight these wellness health benefits, VacationBetter.org has partnered with John de Graaf, a leading author and wellness advocate. Our combined efforts will lead the way to show Americans that they cannot afford not to take a vacation.

 

Men who don't vacation regularly are 32 percent more likely to die of heart attacks; women are 50 percent more likely.*

 

One to two weeks away from daily routine, leads to better job performance and productivity, increasing reaction times by 30 to 40 percent.

 

De Graaf is the executive director at Take Back Your Time, a U.S./Canadian initiative to challenge the epidemic of overwork, over-scheduling and time famine that now threatens our health, families, relationships, communities and environment. For nearly 20 years, De Graaf’s efforts have focused on the concept that Americans are vacation deprived. He has produced more than 15 programs and independent television documentaries that have been broadcasted nationally in primetime on PBS.

 

Take the time to visit VacationBetter.org to view the following efforts of our partnership with de Graaf:

 

· Featured articles and guest commentary on www.VacationBetter.org about the connection between health and vacations. The first article can be found by clicking on the following link: Just What the Doctor Ordered: Vacation for Your Health

 

· A two-minute video about the importance of taking a vacation that was distributed to television stations and on-line video portals, such as YouTube, metacafe, Yahoo!, among others. The video can also be viewed on our experts speak out page.

 

· Updated research statistics that continue to be gathered covering the health and wellness benefits of taking a regular vacation.

 

VacationBetter.org, with the help of John de Graaf, continues to promote the need to take time off at least once a year. It's all about spending quality time away from the stresses of daily life and ensuring that everyone has space to unwind. Everyone deserves a better vacation….don’t be one of the millions of vacation deprived Americans! Let VacationBetter.org be a top resource for improving your overall well-being.

 

Know someone who would be interested in receiving the VacationBetter.org newsletter? Sign-up here.

 

 

*According to Reporting in the Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine in 2000.