Sometimes there are consistent trends in the conversations I have with clients at any given time. This past week it was the need for a vacation.

You may be thinking that the topic came up because summer is around the corner.

But, actually, the arrival of warmer weather had nothing to do with it. The reason for the foray into time off had to do with the level of exhaustion and stress I’ve been noticing in people.

With organizations having to cut budgets and staff, those remaining are faced with more work and fewer resources. In addition, everyone seems to be in fear that they will be the next one to lose their job.

These conditions are keeping people up at night and causing extraordinary stress during the day. That combination is a set up for fatigue, loss of energy and even illness.

There’s only one remedy that I know of that works: time off to relax, renew and regroup.

While any time away from work can provide a respite from daily demands, research shows that a few days is not enough time for the body to fully restore itself from an onslaught of day-to-day stress.  It is only after seven days that the body begins to show signs of shifting from a cycle of fighting stress.

This fact does not align with the latest American trend of taking long weekends, or 3-4 consecutive days on average as the annual vacation.

As we decrease the number of our consecutive days off, some of us are also forfeiting earned annual vacation time—to the tune of four days a year.

To make matters worse, many of us spend our minimal time off running around doing errands, completing frustrating or tiring home projects or visiting family, that for some, is anything but restful.

So, since it is almost summer, consider time off that will be restorative and fun at the same time. The benefits will last way beyond the actually days off.