Takingavacation@emailbreak.com

The economy is improving, but not enough for many families to dream of taking a real vacation. That’s OK. Researchers at UC Irvine and the U.S. Army have come up with the ultimate staycation: Just take a break from email.

The study of employees in an office setting found that when email was removed from the workday for five days, workers had more natural heart rates. They reported feeling more focused on the key tasks of the day and less stressed. They also benefited from getting up once in awhile to walk over to someone’s desk to talk in person. Remember those days?

Of course, the study was conducted only in workplaces, so it could be that the only way to take this sort of vacation is by not taking a vacation at all.

As connected as we all love to feel, in the city and on mountaintops, is this worth a try in real life?

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