​National Wanna Get Away Day

Facts About National Wanna Get Away Day

• Vacations Can Deliver Measurable Heart-Health Benefits

  Long-term studies of working adults have found that those who take regular vacations have a lower risk of heart disease and even death from cardiovascular causes, even after accounting for factors like age, smoking, and income.

  In the Framingham Heart Study, men who took fewer vacations were significantly more likely to experience heart attacks, while another large trial found that participants who vacationed more frequently had reduced rates of heart disease and all-cause mortality, suggesting time away from work may support cardiovascular health.

• Time Off Helps Reset Stress and Burnout, But the Effect Fades Fast

  Research on worker recovery shows that vacations reliably reduce perceived stress and exhaustion and improve mood and sleep during and shortly after the trip.

  However, these benefits typically fade within a few weeks once people resume normal workloads, especially if they return to high job demands or have difficulty setting boundaries, which is why psychologists emphasize both regular breaks and healthier day‑to‑day work patterns.

• Psychological “Detachment” From Work Matters More Than Trip Length

  Studies of leisure travel find that the most important ingredient in feeling restored is not how long a vacation lasts, but how well a person mentally disconnects from work.

  People who avoid checking email, limit work-related thinking, feel in control of their time, and engage in relaxing or enjoyable activities report greater gains in well-being, even on short breaks, than those who stay psychologically tethered to their jobs.

• Leisure Travel Is Linked With Higher Life Satisfaction

  Longitudinal research following adults over time shows that people who travel for leisure more frequently tend to report higher overall life satisfaction, even when controlling for income and other factors.

  Travel appears to enrich “subjective well-being” by providing novelty, social connection, and opportunities for personal growth, rather than simply offering a temporary escape.

• Americans Leave Hundreds of Millions of Vacation Days Unused

  Despite the documented benefits of time off, surveys show U.S. workers chronically underuse their paid vacation.

  The U.S. Travel Association estimated that employees left about 658 million vacation days unused in 2015 and 768 million in 2018, with more than half of workers reporting they did not take all the time they had earned, often due to workload concerns or workplace culture.

• The United States Guarantees No Federal Paid Vacation

  Unlike every other member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United States has no federal law requiring employers to offer paid vacation or paid time off, leaving these benefits entirely up to individual employers.

  As a result, the amount of time Americans can “get away” varies widely by job, industry, and tenure, and many lower-wage workers receive little or no paid vacation at all.

• Airline Deregulation Helped “Democratize” Air Travel

  Before 1978, a federal agency tightly controlled routes and fares for U.S. airlines, which kept ticket prices relatively high and competition limited.

  The Airline Deregulation Act shifted pricing and routes to the market, paving the way for low-cost carriers to expand, cut fares, and open up leisure air travel to millions more people, a trend industry leaders often describe as the “democratization” of flying.