????休假事關個人身心健康。幾年前，美國心身醫學學會（American Psychosomatic Society）曾研究過壓力與心理健康之間的關系，之后公布的調查結果引起了人們的關注。該項目歷時16年，共跟蹤調查了12,338位年齡在35至57歲的男性。結果發現，在控制其他因素（飲食、健身、吸煙）的前提下，通過休假獲得放松的人在研究期間患病和死亡的比例比放棄休假的人低了21%。正常休假的人死于心臟病的幾率比放棄休假的人低32%。

????其他研究顯示，女性之間的差距更加顯著：每年休假兩到三次的女性經理人患心臟病的風險比放棄休假的女性低一半。

????此外，大量證據證明，休假能提高員工的工作效率。（誰在精疲力竭的時候還能保持最佳狀態？）或許這是因為，休假使員工可以與最心愛的人共度美好時光。Ultimat牌伏特加的最新調查顯示，在所有接受調查的公司中，69%的員工目前工作過于繁忙，疏遠了家人；另外，有約7/10（67%）的員工表示過去一年中曾有過由于工作原因缺席家庭或社交活動的經歷。

????可以理解，但如果你愿意的話，不妨聽聽《財富》雜志（Fortune）專欄作家斯坦利?賓的金玉良言：“決定暫停工作，前往圣約翰島度假之時，你所愛的人要陪伴在身邊；同時，要保證他們能獲得和你說話的機會。”也就是說，如果那些只知道工作的人打算毀掉你的業余時間，你應該禮貌地拒絕。

????如果你過于忙碌，或者過分焦慮，為期一周以上的休假只是一種奢望？沒關系。調查顯示，每年只要能享受有幾次三到四天的周末，同樣能夠讓人精力充沛，緩解壓力。而且，考慮到如今的情況，“大周末”或許更實際。

????Your health may depend on it. Some years ago, the American Psychosomatic Society, which studies the connection between stress and physical well-being, announced some arresting research results. A detailed sixteen-year project tracking 12,338 men aged 35 to 57 found that, with other factors (diet, exercise, smoking) controlled, the men who took annual vacations where they actually relaxed were 21% less likely to get sick and die during the study period than those who took no real vacations. The regular-vacationers' chances of dying of heart disease in particular were 32% lower.

????Other studies suggest that, for women, the difference is even more dramatic: Female managers who take two or more vacations per year cut their heart attack risk in half, compared to women who take no time off.

????Moreover, there's plenty of evidence that vacations boost people's productivity (Who does their best work when they're exhausted?) That may be in part because time off provides a chance to hang out with loved ones. A new survey from Ultimat brand vodka, of all companies, says that 69% of employees are now working so much that they're losing touch with their families, and almost seven in 10 (67%) say they have missed a family or social event in the past year because they were working.

????Understandable, but consider, if you will, some words of wisdom Fortune columnist Stanley Bing once wrote: "The people you love should be around long after you decide to hang it up and move to St. John"; and ensuring that they'll still be speaking to you by then "means pushing back respectfully every time people with no life try to steal yours from you."

????Too busy, or too anxious, to schedule a getaway lasting a whole week or more? That's okay. Research has shown that taking several three or four-day weekends throughout the year creates the same energizing, stress-busting effects as a single long break -- and, especially these days, may be more realistic, too.