Wyndham Wisdom

Feel Better: Go Away

By Harvey Chipkin

Taking a vacation could be the best medication

"Take two weeks and call me when you get back."

Would it surprise you to get this prescription from your doctor? It shouldn't. The health benefits of taking a vacation are well established. And, perhaps more important, the absence of a vacation can be seriously detrimental to your health.

Just ask John de Graaf, who founded an organization called Take Back Your Time to examine the issues of time pressure and overwork. "Americans who don't take regular vacations," he says, "are at much greater risk for heart disease and depression." In fact, legislation has been introduced in Congress to mandate a minimum annual paid leave.

To those who say it's hard to take a vacation in these challenging times, de Graaf responds, "It's needed now more than ever. People are so stressed, and many are working harder to compensate for those who have been laid off. The doctors we talk to say that time off is especially essential now."

Some see timeshare as one of the more effective solutions to the problem of vacation deprivation. De Graaf agrees. "Owning a timeshare does encourage people to take vacations," he says. "When you make that kind of investment, you're more likely to schedule time off."

In this country, taking a vacation can seem to be going against the grain. And even when Americans do use their vacation time, they have less of it than workers in most other industrialized nations. Americans receive an average of 13 days of paid vacation leave, according to the World Tourism Organization. In contrast, Canadians enjoy 26 paid days off. But it's the Italians, with a jaw-dropping 42 days of vacation, who are the envy of the world's workers.

Vacation time isn't just a perk, says Tim MacDonald, general manager for Expedia.com. "The stress associated with the current economy makes the need for time away from work more important than ever," MacDonald says.

The pressure to bring vacations back to America appears to be building. This August, the very first National Vacation Matters Summit was held in Seattle. Seminar topics included "Why I Support Paid Vacations as a Physician and a Small Business Owner" and "Reducing Stress and Depression with Vacation Time."

So do your part for the health of the country and your family: Take a vacation.