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This is What 365 Days Without a Vacation Does to Your Health
Government Executive / Quartz ^ | Sep 8, 2015 | Thu-Huong Ha

Posted on 09/08/2015 3:58:54 PM PDT by Stand Watch Listen

If you live in the US, the odds are high that you haven’t taken a vacation this year (or last year, for that matter).

Before enduring another year without an official getaway, either because of work commitments or an otherwise hectic routine, consider the following: A growing body of literature across the fields of medicine, psychology, and management has confirmed what the body and mind already instinctively know. Working without a real break can take a serious toll on one’s mental and physical health. To put the importance of vacation in perspective, here’s a rundown of what happens when down time goes away:

The toll on your body
There’s a strong relationship between people who don’t vacay and the risk of heart disease. Data collected in 1991 from a renowned ongoing longitudinal project started in 1948, called the Framingham study,shows that female homemakers who took vacation once every six years or less had nearly twice the risk of developing heart attacks or having a fatal heart problem than those who took time off at least twice a year.

Men are affected, too. A 2012 review of 50 years of research published in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that a ten-hour-or-more workday increased the risk of coronary heart risk by 80%, in both sexes. The researchers reasoned that the correlation may be related in part to health problems associated with longer exposure to psychological stress.

The toll on your mind
Just as grueling work hours have been found to test our mental health, vacation is thought to promote it. In 2012, drawing on data from another large longterm project called Whitehall II, which collects information about British civil servants, researchers from the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health and elsewhere found that people who worked more than 11 ...……….

(Excerpt) Read more at govexec.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: liberalagenda; unions
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1 posted on 09/08/2015 3:58:54 PM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
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To: Stand Watch Listen

People don’t take vacations anymore, because every job is up for grabs.


2 posted on 09/08/2015 4:00:36 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: Stand Watch Listen

Haven’t had a real one since 2007, however my hours have been cut so much every weekend is 3 days. I’ll muddle through.


3 posted on 09/08/2015 4:01:55 PM PDT by Tijeras_Slim
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To: Stand Watch Listen

I retired a year ago after working a high-stress position for ten years with no vacation. It’s not a good idea.


4 posted on 09/08/2015 4:01:57 PM PDT by JudyinCanada
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To: Stand Watch Listen

Working too damn hard BUMP!


5 posted on 09/08/2015 4:02:33 PM PDT by Delta 21 (Patiently waiting for the jack booted kick at my door.)
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To: stephenjohnbanker
People don’t take vacations anymore, because every job is up for grabs.

That or we run our own business, the work which we love...

6 posted on 09/08/2015 4:04:08 PM PDT by Sirius Lee (Cruz or Lose 2016)
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To: Stand Watch Listen

Wussies all. I deliberately banked vacation days for years, took no sick time, and worked with a sense of dedication. We’ve raised a nation gimmedats.


7 posted on 09/08/2015 4:04:56 PM PDT by sparklite2 (Voting is acting white.)
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To: Stand Watch Listen

Hey you want stress? Drive from Ct to Myrtle Beach and back with 4 grandkids, all teenage girls.


8 posted on 09/08/2015 4:05:36 PM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: Sirius Lee

True. I did the same for 25 years.


9 posted on 09/08/2015 4:06:04 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (My Batting Average( 1,000) (GOPe is that easy to read))
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To: Stand Watch Listen

Government employees get vacations.


10 posted on 09/08/2015 4:06:42 PM PDT by golux
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To: Sirius Lee
I agree.....

Ran my own business for 30 years.Did not take a vacation for last 14.

11 posted on 09/08/2015 4:08:38 PM PDT by Churchillspirit (9/11/2001 and 9/11/2012: NEVER FORGET.)
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To: Stand Watch Listen

My son is a paramedic who works 12 hour shifts.
When he switched to a higher paying county EMS, he had to suffer through a year of probation . . no vacation days, no sick days, no personal days.
It was hard on him and his new wife.


12 posted on 09/08/2015 4:09:13 PM PDT by ElainaVer
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To: JudyinCanada

Retiring isn’t a good idea?


13 posted on 09/08/2015 4:09:52 PM PDT by MortMan (The rule of law is now the law of rulings - Judicial, IRS, EPA...)
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To: Stand Watch Listen

I haven’t had a vacation from Obama in almost seven years.

www.gpsdeclassified.com


14 posted on 09/08/2015 4:17:32 PM PDT by Richard from IL
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To: sparklite2

Aren’t you special?


15 posted on 09/08/2015 4:21:17 PM PDT by sauropod (I am His and He is mine.)
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To: Churchillspirit

I have owned three businesses, and have gone as long as 15 years without a vacation. I don’t recommend it. Looking back, it was foolish and took a toll.


16 posted on 09/08/2015 4:21:45 PM PDT by Calpublican (Republican Party Now Stands for Nothing!!!!!(Except Conniving))
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To: sparklite2

Are you bragging or complaining?


17 posted on 09/08/2015 4:25:05 PM PDT by proust
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To: Richard from IL

I haven’t had a vacation from Obama in almost seven years.”

I have. After the 2012 election until about 4-5 months ago I took a complete break from the news. I did not watch or read the news and did not post on Free Republic. If I was at someone’s home and Obama came on the TV, I asked them nicely to turn it off. It was refreshing.


18 posted on 09/08/2015 4:26:57 PM PDT by Calpublican (Republican Party Now Stands for Nothing!!!!!(Except Conniving))
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To: proust

It’s like the rooster who found an ostrich egg
in the barnyard. He called all the hens over
and, with one claw resting on the ostrich egg,
said, “Ladies, I’m not telling you what to do.
I’m just showing you what can be done.”


19 posted on 09/08/2015 4:31:09 PM PDT by sparklite2 (Voting is acting white.)
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To: Stand Watch Listen


20 posted on 09/08/2015 4:37:29 PM PDT by JoeProBono (SOME IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED;-{)
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