Your goals and available vacation time will affect how often you can and should take a vacation. However, most studies agree that at least two vacations a year can do wonders for your mental and physical health.
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How much PTO per year is normal? On average, people with less than a year of experience will only take 13 days of paid leave per year. Comparatively, employees with over 20 years of experience are likely to take around 20+ days of paid leave each year.
Number of domestic trips taken per yearOverall, 60 percent of respondents travel domestically one to two times a year. Travelers who are 54 and older responded that they were more likely to travel more than two times within the year. Just under 10 percent travel more than five times a year within the states.
According to research published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, the ideal length of a vacation is exactly eight days. As the researchers noted, a vacationer will feel an increase of happiness over the first several days of vacation, with that feeling peaking on the eighth day, The Times-Picayune explained.
American millennials are reported to travel an average of 35 days per year, significantly more than other generations. Meanwhile, the average travel days for other generations in the US are 26 for Gen X, 27 for baby boomers, and 29 for Gen Z.
But how often should you take a break? If driving long distances, you should stop for at least 15 minutes every two hours. Stop often to rest for at least 45 minutes every 4.5 hours of driving to avoid getting tired and stay alert. Plan to stop for a break every 100 miles on your long road trip so that you can relax.
Results show that millennials (ages 24 to 35) travel the most, 35 days each year, but were followed closely by Generation Z travelers (ages 18 to 23), who travel 29 days each year. Generation X travels the least, the result of work and family commitments.
Neuroscientists have found that chronic exposure to stress can alter your brain structure and bring on anxiety and depression. When you take a vacation, feelings of calm arise and relieve stress, which allows the body and mind to heal in ways that it couldn't if it were still under pressure.
Taking a two week vacation forces you to offload some of your workload and remove your mind from work for a true “break”. Giving yourself enough time to truly get away lets you slow down and let your mind move past all the work chatter in your head.