It’s critical for busy entrepreneurs and small business owners to prioritize taking a vacation — getting away from work benefits your body and mind, and your business.

“Top performers know something that other business owners don't. While everyone else stays busy with endless check-ins and back-to-back calls, successful entrepreneurs block out time to recharge,” says author and entrepreneur Jodie Cook.

Here are just some of the rewards that come from prioritizing a vacation this summer, or any time of the year.

How Vacations Improve Decision-Making

Your brain requires downtime to process information effectively and create new neural connections while fostering creative solutions, explains author, entrepreneur and consultant Peter Economy in an Inc. article.

He likens operating without breaks to running a marathon at sprint speed -- it results in unsustainable performance and counterproductive outcomes.

“When the brain gets sufficient rest, it speeds up information processing while sustaining focus and enhancing strategic decision-making abilities. A single week of real disconnection delivers productivity benefits extending for months.”

“Unplugging” is essential for taking advantage of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt, says Carrie-Ann Barrow, founder of Scaling Strategies, in a Forbes Expert Panel post.

“Founder-CEOs are constantly facing change and risk, and if they don’t allow new neural connections, they can’t see new ways of doing things,” Barrow says. “They get stuck. Taking a break from the daily barrage of “doing” allows CEOs the ability to tap into their creativity and visionary expertise.”

Vacations Create Space for Creativity and Innovation

When your brain gets a break, new ideas will flow more easily. “Your brain's default mode network unlocks ideas when your mind is relaxed,” explains Cook in the blog on her website.

“Long walks on sandy beaches or sitting in infinity pools with a book gives space for creative solutions,” writes Cook, author of The AI-Powered Coaching Business Playbook and founder of Coachvox, an AI marketing and engagement tool for coaches and consultants.

“Open-mindedness leads to new ways of doing things, and a switch in mindset can be all you need to move mountains.”

How Time Off Supports Business Success and Team Culture

Successful entrepreneurs talk about a vacation as a business investment -- because it leads to measurable improvements in performance, writes Economy in the Inc. post.

 “As your competitors exhaust themselves competing to work the hardest, your vacation will leave you recharged with fresh ideas and better prepared to outpace them,” he adds.

Also, when you take a vacation, you’re role-modeling to your employees the importance of life/balance, and signaling to your employees that you trust them with your business while you’re out.

Time away empowers teams and sets up a healthy culture, says business coach and advisor Andrea Hrusovska, co-founder and CEO of HR4U Solutions LLC, in a Forbes Expert Panel post. 

“Proving true leadership is not about constant presence; it’s about building an organization strong enough to thrive without you.”

Why Vacations Are Essential for Entrepreneur Health

A vacation from work is good for your mental and physical health. It protects you from burnout,  which can occur when there’s a repetitive cycle of stress without a break.

Chronic stress can lead to a number of health issues, from sleep deprivation and headaches to depression, heart disease and high blood pressure, according to a post by the Mayo Clinic.

“The long-term activation of the stress response system and too much exposure to cortisol and other stress hormones can disrupt almost all the body's processes,” says the Mayo Clinic article. “This puts you at higher risk of many health problems.”

Jenny Phillips, CEO of a Utah-based homeschool curriculum publishing company, recalls a time when her nonstop work threatened her mental health, according to an EBN article by Jimmy Nesbitt.   

Without a break, her productivity and creativity suffered, she said, especially at stretches when she was dealing with mental health challenges, says the post.

"Slowing down and making sure I had periods of deep rest away from work allowed me not only to avoid those challenges, but to achieve the highest level of productivity I have ever experienced," Phillips said in the article.

For more information on this topic, see How To Avoid Burnout.