From Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of the book "Why You Ge More Done When You Work Less."
Longer vacations aren't better. Some research suggests the benefits of taking time off peak around the eighth day of the vacation. In fact, much of the mental health benefit of vacation comes from the days leading up to it. Pang suggests taking about a week off every quarter, if you can. One study of 12,338 middle-aged men at high risk for heart disease found that not taking annual vacations was linked to a higher risk of dying during a nine-year follow-up period compared to those who vacationed often.
Additionally, a 2021 study in the journal Annals of Tourism Research Empirical Insights shows that short breaks achieve restorative benefits on par with longer vacations and even edge out vacations in the recovery of cognitive capacity.
So while longer vacations can be lovely, shorter breaks offer a practical and highly effective way to gain similar restorative benefits.