Pay Yourself First: Take a Vacation

By John de Graaf

 

Chances are you’re not thinking about a vacation right now. For one thing, it’s nearly winter, and for another, you may be worried about spending money unnecessarily in an economy where so many Americans face struggles and uncertainty. But in fact, vacations are not a luxury, and they are certainly not the first thing to forego in tough times. You may think you can’t afford to take a block of time off to rejuvenate, but the truth is: you can’t afford not to.

 

Americans are proud of being hard workers; we put in longer hours at work than citizens of virtually all other industrial countries, and get less vacation time. In fact, according to Audrey Lincoff, vice president for Communications at Expedia.org, “the shortest vacation time given in any other country is still about one week longer than we get in the United States.” Americans also live a couple of years less than Europeans, and are nearly twice as likely to suffer from chronic illnesses like heart disease, hypertension and diabetes in their senior years. Is there a connection between our shorter vacations and our shorter life spans? I think so.

 

I’ve talked to many doctors who’ve seen the toll that skipping vacations takes on their patients. Some tell me the great majority of ailments they treat are, above all, the result of stress from time pressure and overwork. The best advice for many patients: “Take two weeks off and call me in the morning.”

 

“You have patients coming in and they are bouncing off the walls they are so stressed out,” says Dr. Arnold Pallay, a family physician in New Jersey. “And they want medicine or therapy or something. And you ask them ‘when’s your last vacation?’ It could be six years or more. So I say, ‘Go away, take a vacation. That’s the first thing you should do before you even think about a pill or therapy or something.’ Usually they come back and say ‘Doc, I feel so much better. You made me feel so much better.’ But it was the vacation.”

 

Dr. Pallay’s prescription is backed up by studies showing that men who don’t take regular vacations are a third more likely to suffer from heart disease than those who do, and 21% more likely to die early of all causes. For women, the outlook is worse: those who don’t take regular vacations are 50% more likely to develop heart disease.

 

A Wisconsin study of 1500 women showed that those who didn’t take regular vacations were also twice as likely to be depressed as those who did, while those who hadn’t had a vacation in six years or more were eight times as likely to be depressed.

 

These health impacts suggest that if you forego your vacation because you think you can’t afford it, you may well end up paying more later in treatment of illnesses, and so will your employer.

 

Vacation options don’t have to break the bank, but it is important to get away from home, as Dr. Mel Borins argues in his book GO AWAY: JUST FOR THE HEALTH OF IT (Wholistic Press, 2000). It’s hard to really relax when you stay home because you can’t break away from everyday routine and demands.

 

If money is tight, you’d be better off waiting to purchase a product you’ve been eyeing than by skipping vacation. Research by Leaf Van Boven, a psychologist at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, suggests that the kinds of experiences people have while on vacation contribute more to their happiness than material possessions do. “Instead of buying that new dress, take a vacation,” he suggests.

 

Moreover, the rejuvenation you’ll get by taking a week or more off and going somewhere will also pay off in improved results at work. Expedia.com’s Audrey Lincoff points out that many studies show workers’ productivity increases when they return from vacation. An Air New Zealand study produced some remarkable numbers: after two weeks off, workers got an extra hour of quality sleep each night and had reaction times at work that were 30-40% faster than before they left! And the gains lasted for a few months. Who knows, if you come back more charged and productive, your employer might be impressed enough to offer you a raise!

 

Did you know there’s a new epidemic spreading in the United States? They call it IGS. You’ve probably seen the symptoms—road rage, screaming at computers to hurry up, friends seeming crankier than before. The cause of Irritable Growl Syndrome has been identified: no real breaks in a work schedule more pressured than ever. IGS leads to more serious ailments.

 

The evidence is clear, even in tough times, you can’t afford NOT to take a vacation. Start planning now, just for the health of it.

 

John de Graaf is the Executive Director of TAKE BACK YOUR TIME (www.timeday.org)

 

About John de Graaf