Being plugged in while on vacation—is it healthy? - Page 2

Yet many of us clearly are no longer comfortable leaving the office behind. A third of the people polled by Travelocity said they find it more stressful if they're not plugged in while on vacation and confess to sneaking away to check messages.

"Needing to be plugged in is a major drag," says San Diego attorney Stuart Rees, the father of a toddler. "Fearing that things will blow up without at least a few minutes of personal attention is a bigger drag."

Chuck Mardiks, a New York City executive and the father of two young daughters, had his cell phone with him on the beach last summer as he and his family vacationed at the Jersey Shore, and his laptop was back at the place where they were staying. "Sometimes it makes my wife crazy, especially if I say I'm just going to check in and it ends up being a couple of hours later," Mardiks said.

Spending your vacation with your cell phone glued to your ear or bent over a laptop isn't the answer, said Lois Backon of the Family and Work Institute, who co-authored the institute's recent study, "Overwork in America." The research found that many of those who work while on vacation return to their jobs stressed and overwhelmed. By taking their work along with them, they don't give themselves enough time off to regroup.

"It's all about limits," Backon said.

That means just as you may want to limit the amount of time your kids are online, glued to their iPods, or text-messaging friends during your family trip this summer, you should also limit the time you're available to your office. Or, answer e-mails and calls before the kids wake up or after they're in bed, Backon suggested.

"You don't need all this stuff 24/7," said Shifrin. "When everyone is so distracted by electronics, it's tough to build memories."

And memories, after all, are what we're there for.