Why You Really Need to Unplug While on Vacation (Infographic)

This article originally published on June 27, 2015.

Sun, sand, an iPhone in your hand. If this is your idea of vacation, something’s wrong with this picture. Sad as it is, staying plugged in -- and even working -- on holiday is the new norm. For most of us, whether poolside or at the beach, or tucked away in a tent or a cruise cabin, our smartphones, laptops and tablets are always faithfully by our side or in our hands. We don’t know when to quit.

Um, hello. Wake up, not-so-happy camper. In case you forgot, the whole point of taking time off of work is to recharge your mind, body and soul -- not your godforsaken glowing gadgets. They don’t call it digital detox for nothing. By now you should know that you have to disconnect to reconnect.

When we do temporarily kick the tech addiction and unplug on holiday -- c’mon, you can do it -- we return to the office refreshed, relaxed and ready to tackle, yep, more work. When we don’t, medical and mental health professionals warn that we’re not doing a body good. And they’re right: We suffer from poor concentration, shoddy sleep patterns, eye irritation, sloppy posture and...let’s just stop there for now. Not to mention how dorky we look zombie-ing out on our phones when we should be soaking up the sights and engaging in good, old lowercase “f” facetime with our travel mates.

Before you brave a tech-free vacation, or even a staycation, do yourself a big favor -- and your clients and/or co-workers -- and give them a heads up that you won’t be answering email or calls. Basically, tell them to buzz off in a nice way and then banish the guilt. You owe yourself some tech-free downtime, worker bee, and you know it.

Facebook, Twitter and Instagram can wait, but your health and wellbeing can’t. For more on why you can’t afford not to unplug on vacation, take a (guilt) trip through the eye-opening infographic below, courtesy of Modis, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based IT staffing company. Bonus: It even showcases some gorgeous vacation locales to daydream about.

Related: 7 Ways to Detox Your Inbox