According to the Conference Board, a firm specializing in private research, the number of Americans who will take a vacation within six months is the lowest in thirty years. 39% of the respondents who took their standard consumer survey were also not considering travel next year — a low since 1978. Public health consultants believe this is a mistake.

We need a break from the all-time high levels of stress and job uncertainty. A visionary health research project since 1948, known as the Framingham Heart Study, has made major scientific contributions toward identifying risk factors for heart disease. The project assessed and studied twenty years of questionnaires over three generations. According to the data, women who took vacations once in six years or less were near eight times more susceptible to developing heart disease or having a heart attack.

The correlation between stress and way of life is evident. In 2000, the results of another study involving 12,000 men over a period of nine years had similar results. Men who did not travel on an annual basis were 33% more prone to dying from a heart attack and had a 21% risk of dying from other causes. Mental health is also indicated to be affected by travel. According to research scientists at the Marshfield Clinic of Wisconsin, the instances of depression increase as frequency of travel decreases.

These studies suggest real evidence that taking a vacation is necessary to your health and well-being. Now is the time to reinvent our travel plans. With pressure on spending budgets, considering all the options is a smart idea. Securing time off from work may be the only thing standing in the way.

According to the BLS, one-quarter of Americans who work in the private business sector are not afforded paid vacation time. Further, there are 127 countries that do have mandatory paid vacation time. The U.S., however, is not among them. The editor of Take Back Your Time, John de Graaf, is lobbying for an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act that would guarantee three weeks paid vacation to anyone who has worked at a job for a minimum of one year. Although a tough sell, this arrangement is more tempting to business because vacation time is more predictable than sick time.

Economic indicators are still pointing downhill. Making up for the negative effects is necessary to our continued health. Allocating funds towards a lavish, tranquil vacation is even more compelling.

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