New study supports the benefits of a four-day work week

BOSTON - Hoping to secure a four-day work week? A new study supports the benefits of having one.

Over a 13-month period, researchers at the University of South Australia found that people on vacation engaged in 13-percent more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, were 5-percent less sedentary, and slept on average 21 minutes more each day compared to people not on vacation.

They say these healthier behaviors during time off from work promote greater physical and mental health and support a growing movement for a four-day workweek.

They argue a three-day weekend would promote better work-life balance, improved mental health, less stress, less burnout, and improved productivity in the long run.

Australia

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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