SAVORING SUMMER VACATION: Why Your Brain Needs A Break.

The average vacation in America now numbers a pathetic three to four days—a long weekend. And this year, according to a recent survey, one in seven Americans is taking no vacation at all.

The problem is, the little time we now allot ourselves for vacations can’t do what vacations are supposed to do. “You need more time to fix burnout,” explains Joe Robinson, author of Work To Live: The Guide to Getting a Life. You have to be cut off from a stressor for a sufficient amount of time to give your mind and body a break. And you have to allow two weeks for your body to rebound.

So I’m taking this as a sign that my off-Internet dive trips should be twice as long. Duly noted. . . .