With the long weekend just around the corner, U of G Prof. Jamie Gruman says you can reap the same recuperating benefits in those three days as you would during a two-week cottage getaway or road trip.

He says breaking up your time off into several long weekends throughout the year can be even better than saving up all your vacation days for a longer holiday. The recovery effects of a vacation last only a few days after you have returned to work, he explains. According to a report released by the American Psychology Association, 40 per cent of us say the energizing and relaxing effects of a holiday disappear within a few days, and sometimes instantly, once we are back on the the job. Gruman says regular mini-vacations allow us to shorten the time between our bouts of recovery so that when the benefits do fade out, it’s not long before we have another chance to refuel.

This summer, we should be more strategic about how we vacation, says Gruman, and emphasize the quality of our days off and not the quantity.

Gruman’s comments on the value of long weekends were published recently in  Psychology Today. He is a professor in organizational behaviour in the College of Business and Economics, founding chair of the Canadian Positive Psychology Association and author of a newly released book, Boost: The Science of Recharging Yourself in an Age of Unrelenting Demands, which provides tips on how to effectively recover from life’s daily obligations.

Gruman is available for media interviews.

Contact:
Prof. Jamie Gruman
jgruman@uoguelph.ca