Why You Need to Take Your Vacation Time
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Has COVID messed with your vacation plans? Maybe financial strain or job security fears have pushed using paid-time-off (PTO) down on your priority list. Just remember taking time off work is important for your mental health.
Whether you love your job or not – work is stressful. And, daily on-the-job pressures can trigger natural stress responses.
Cortisol and adrenaline are two hormones that rise due to stress. This is the body’s natural response to danger or emergency situations. Daily stressors like demanding job duties, a huge project or a last-minute deadline can trigger all those stress hormones to fire in your body the same way. Chronic stress and the long-term overexposure to stress hormones, like cortisol, increase your risk for mental illnesses like depression and anxiety, and can trigger other health problems that can affect your well-being, according to Mayo Clinic.
One of the best ways to combat chronic work-related stress, potential burnout or even job dissatisfaction is to take your well-earned PTO. Multiple studies conclude, using vacation time reduces stress:
Time off of work helps reduce stress by giving people a break from doing the things and being in places they associate with stress, finds a report released by the American Psychological Association.
A large Canadian study looked at lawyers, known for working in highly stressful settings, and found vacations and social time reduced depression and built resilience against job stress.
Experts have found even a short vacation can reduce stress. A small study in Germany revealed a short, four-day trip improved the well-being, recovery and perceived stress levels in participants.
If travel isn’t something you can do right now – experts recommend a staycation can have just as many mental health benefits as a trip. Boston University epidemiologist and mental health expert Sandro Galea told the Washington Post “The value of vacation is to remove the stressors of one’s day-to-day engagements…if that can be achieved through staying at home, it would have the same mental health benefit as going elsewhere.”
So what are you waiting for? It is a great time to plan your next vacation or staycation and look forward to some R & R. Your mind and body will thank you.