How Vacations Can Affect Your Stress Levels

How Vacations Can Affect Your Stress Levels Stress Management Job Stress Print How Vacations Can Affect Your Stress Levels By Elizabeth Scott, MS twitter Elizabeth Scott, MS, is a wellness coach specializing in stress management and quality of life, and the author of 8 Keys to Stress Management. Learn about our editorial policy Elizabeth Scott, MS Updated on January 10, 2020 Kraig Scarbinsky/Photodisc/Getty Images More in Stress Management Job Stress Workplace Bullying Effects on Health Management Techniques Situational Stress Household Stress Relationship Stress Many people don’t take vacations often enough. In fact, according to a poll on this site, around half of those responding dont take annual vacations; in fact, many never take them! And now with increasing frequency, when we do take vacations, we often bring work along with us, keeping ourselves essentially still in the work mindset we’re trying to escape. This is unfortunate for several reasons. Promote Creativity A good vacation can help us to reconnect with ourselves, operating as a vehicle for self-discovery and helping us get back to feeling our best. Stave off Burnout Workers who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts. Can Keep You Healthy Taking regular time off to ‘recharge your batteries’, thereby keeping stress levels lower, can keep you healthier. Promote Overall Wellbeing One study found that three days after vacation, subjects physical complaints, their quality of sleep and mood had improved as compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had the more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacations. Can Strengthen Bonds Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong, helping you enjoy the good times more and helping you through the stress of the hard times. In fact, a study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages. Can Help With Your Job Performance As the authors of the above study suggest, the psychological benefits that come with more frequent vacations lead to increased quality of life, and that can lead to increased quality of work on the job. Vacations Relieve Stress in Lasting Ways It should come as no surprise that vacations that include plenty of free time bring stress relief, but research shows that a good vacation can lead to the experience of fewer stressful days at least five weeks later! That means that vacations are the gift to yourself that keeps on giving. The bottom line is that taking a good amount of time away from the stresses of daily life can give us the break we need so that we can return to our lives refreshed and better equipped to handle whatever comes. While not everyone is able to take a vacation, for those who can take several days or a few weeks off for a trip, even a short respite can be restorative. One study showed that a four-day long weekend vacation had positive effects on well-being, recovery, strain, and perceived stress for as long as 45 days. While the reduction in strain was greater for those who spent the vacation away from home, the other effects were similar for those who stayed home. For those who don’t have the time or money to take a ‘formal’ vacation, you can look into cheap vacations and creative ideas on how to get a nice break for less. And dont forget the option of taking a stay-cation or play-cation, too. How to Take a Break From Work (and Why You Need It)

2013 Three-year Top Performing Direct Plans Q3

Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile," the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of September 30, 2013 for Direct-sold 529 plans. Three-year performance ranking (click here for one-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table): Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 24.36 2 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 27.72 3 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 28.37 4 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 31.04 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 33.14 6 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 33.24 7 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 36.79 8 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 38.09 9 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 38.64 10 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 39.11 11 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 40.30 12 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 40.98 13 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 41.75 14 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 41.93 15 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 42.26 16 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 42.31 17 Iowa College Savings Iowa 44.34 18 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 45.86 19 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 46.07 20 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 46.55 21 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 46.65 22 West Virginia SMART529 Select 49.14 23 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 49.89 24 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 50.01 25 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 50.02 26 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 52.09 27 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 52.26 28 Alabama College Counts 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 53.18 29 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 53.29 30 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 53.79 31 Louisiana START Saving Program 54.02 32 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 55.54 33 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 55.58 34 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 57.47 35 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 58.18 36 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 61.94 37 North Dakota College SAVE 62.26 38 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 63.19 39 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 63.37 40 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 64.86 41 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 65.56 42 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 65.94 43 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 66.45 44 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 66.52 45 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 66.58 - California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan NA - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA - Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program NA - Montana Montana Family Education Savings Program Investment Plan NA - Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan NA - Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan NA - Nevada SSgA Upromise College Fund NA - North Carolina National College Savings Program NA - Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program NA - Wisconsin Edvest College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC. shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here. Savingforcollege.com ranks the performance of direct-sold 529 plans. Direct-sold plans are those that consumers can enroll in without using a broker. We have prepared both one-year, three-year, five-year and ten-year performance tables. To prepare this ranking, we compared a subset of portfolios from each 529 savings plan. We selected portfolios based on their mix of stocks, bonds and money market funds, which allows for an apples-to-apples comparison in seven asset-allocation categories. The lower the "percentile," the better the ranking. This ranking could be a useful tool for you when selecting which direct 529 plan might be right for you. Here are our 529 performance rankings as of September 30, 2013 for Direct-sold 529 plans. Three-year performance ranking (click here for one-year performance table, five-year performance table, and ten-year performance table): Rank State Plan Percentile 1 Alaska University of Alaska College Savings Plan 24.36 2 Alaska T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan 27.72 3 New York New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan 28.37 4 District of Columbia DC 529 College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 31.04 5 Utah Utah Educational Savings Plan (UESP) Trust 33.14 6 Maine NextGen College Investing Plan -- Client Direct Series 33.24 7 South Dakota CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold) 36.79 8 Florida Florida 529 Savings Plan 38.09 9 South Carolina Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 38.64 10 Maryland College Savings Plans of Maryland -- College Investment Plan 39.11 11 New Mexico The Education Plan's College Savings Program (Direct-sold) 40.30 12 Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 40.98 13 West Virginia SMART529 WV Direct 41.75 14 Michigan Michigan Education Savings Program 41.93 15 Oklahoma Oklahoma College Savings Plan 42.26 16 Illinois Bright Start College Savings Program -- Direct-sold Plan 42.31 17 Iowa College Savings Iowa 44.34 18 Hawaii Hawaii's College Savings Program 45.86 19 Colorado Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan 46.07 20 Ohio Ohio CollegeAdvantage 529 Savings Plan 46.55 21 Nevada The Vanguard 529 Savings Plan 46.65 22 West Virginia SMART529 Select 49.14 23 Oregon Oregon College Savings Plan 49.89 24 New Jersey NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan 50.01 25 Minnesota Minnesota College Savings Plan 50.02 26 Vermont Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan 52.09 27 Virginia Virginia529 inVEST 52.26 28 Alabama College Counts 529 Fund (Direct-sold) 53.18 29 Kansas Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold) 53.29 30 Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Investment Plan (Direct-sold) 53.79 31 Louisiana START Saving Program 54.02 32 Missouri MOST - Missouri's 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold) 55.54 33 Kentucky Kentucky Education Savings Plan Trust 55.58 34 Kansas Schwab 529 College Savings Plan 57.47 35 Texas Texas College Savings Plan 58.18 36 Connecticut Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET) 61.94 37 North Dakota College SAVE 62.26 38 Arkansas GIFT College Investing Plan 63.19 39 Rhode Island CollegeBoundfund (Direct-sold, Alternative RI) 63.37 40 Idaho Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal) 64.86 41 Nevada USAA 529 College Savings Plan 65.56 42 Massachusetts U.Fund College Investing Plan 65.94 43 New Hampshire UNIQUE College Investing Plan 66.45 44 Arizona Fidelity Arizona College Savings Plan 66.52 45 Delaware Delaware College Investment Plan 66.58 - California The ScholarShare College Savings Plan NA - Georgia Path2College 529 Plan NA - Mississippi Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program NA - Montana Montana Family Education Savings Program Investment Plan NA - Nebraska Nebraska Education Savings Trust - Direct College Savings Plan NA - Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 College Savings Plan NA - Nevada SSgA Upromise College Fund NA - North Carolina National College Savings Program NA - Tennessee TNStars College Savings 529 Program NA - Wisconsin Edvest College Savings Plan NA NA = Not Applicable = Program does not have at least one portfolio with sufficiently-long performance in a minimum of four asset allocation categories under our ranking model. The Savingforcollege.com plan composite rankings are derived using the plans' relevant portfolio performance in seven unique asset allocation categories. The asset-allocation categories used are: 100 percent equity, 80 percent equity, 60 percent equity, 40 percent equity, 20 percent equity, 100 percent fixed and 100 percent short term. The plan composite ranking is determined by the average of its percentile ranking in the seven categories. The performance data underlying these rankings represent past performance and are not a guarantee of future performance. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data used. A plan portfolio's investment return and principal value will fluctuate so that an investor's shares or units when redeemed may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investors should carefully consider plan investment goals, risks, charges and expenses by obtaining and reading the plan's official program description before investing. Investors should also consider whether their beneficiary's home state offers any tax or other benefits that are available for investments only in such state's 529 plan. Brokers, please note: For internal use only and not for use with or to be shown to the investing public. Disclaimer: Saving For College, LLC. shall not be liable for any errors or omissions in this report. Users should rely on official program disclosures. For broker-sold plan rankings, click here.