Women Need More Vacations
After spending another evening working until midnight, I’m itching for a break. I’m starting to dream about vacationing in Europe again — the Italian Riviera this time. As I was trying to wind down from the busy day, I ran across an interesting study about vacations. The results were surprising.
According to the article, women who take frequent vacations sleep better, are more satisfied in marriage, and are less likely to be tense or depressed. Unfortunately, only a few of them actually do it. Survey results show working women go on vacation:
- Twice a year (23.4 percent)
- Once a year (34 percent)
- Once every two to five years (23.2 percent)
- Once every six years (19.4 percent)
That equates to nearly one in five women who take a vacation only once in six years! Wow, that’s really sad.
The odds of depression and tension are higher among women who get away only once in two years compared with women who leave it all behind twice or more per year, the study found. When you go on vacation, you get a break from everyday stressors. It enables you to get away from it all and release built-up tension. Researchers say that the survey results prove vacations are good for your mental health and may help you do a better job at work.
Americans tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to vacations, though. In many other countries, the standard is a month, but in the US most workers receive only two weeks of paid vacation each year.
Luckily, I receive a month’s worth of vacation days. The problem is that I’m always too busy to take all of them. Maybe I need to work harder to change that. Hmm…how about a mini-vacation before my Fall trip to Europe? Doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
