The trouble with vacations is—they aren’t long enough. For U.S. workers, anyway. A two-week vacation is still the standard in this country, and in the 24/7 work cycle that’s become commonplace in the U.S., employees sometimes don't take the vacation time they’ve earned because they’re afraid of falling behind.

Europe has a much more civilized approach. In most European countries, five- to six-week annual vacations are the norm. They’re even mandated by law. This fact hit home when my husband, Paul, and I arrived in Utrecht, Netherlands, and our friend Monique greeted us with a story we could hardly believe. “I just got back from five weeks of vacation that I had to take,” she said. Had to take? “It's the law,” she told us. “In Holland, we legally have to take five weeks of vacation a year.”

I was envious. We’d managed to wrangle two vacation days around the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and we'd used the extended holiday to visit Holland. We’d considered ourselves lucky to get that much time off. To us, the thought of five weeks of vacation sounded as desirable — and as impossible — as a magic carpet ride. Are these countries breeding generations of slackers? Not according to Joe Robinson, author of Work to Live and a leading advocate for longer vacations. “On a productivity-per-hour basis, Holland, Belgium, Norway, France, and Ireland are all as productive or more productive than we are,” he says. “And all these countries have at least four weeks by law of vacation time for workers.”

The benefits of vacations to both workers and employers go far beyond snapshots and souvenirs. “Studies show that when you go on vacation, your performance increases when you go back to the job,” Robinson says.

Not to mention your health. “An annual vacation can cut the risk of heart disease in men by 30% and in women by 50%,” says Robinson. And when Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin, conducted a survey of 1,500 working women, the study revealed some stunning correlations. “Women who took a vacation only once in six years were twice as likely to report high rates of tension, depression, and anxiety as women who took vacations two or more times each year,” says Catherine McCarty, who led the study.

Vacations force us to relax and open our minds to fresh inspiration. For Paul and me, our best ideas often come to us when we least expect them — for example, when we were viewing Michelangelo's sketches at Haarlem's Teylers Museum or sitting in a cafe afterward with our Dutch friends. The only trips we've ever regretted are the ones we didn't take.

Vacation practices of U.S. corporations aren’t likely to change soon, but here are some things you can do to make the most of your vacation time:

• Use all of your vacation days.

• Don’t use your vacation days to do the laundry or paint the house.

• Leave your laptop at home and wean yourself from calling, texting, and e-mailing on your smart phone.

• Don’t let financial concerns keep you at home during your vacation. Trips are available for every budget—especially today. Your travel agent can help you find the right one.

• Put your vacation on the calendar along with your anniversary and birthday. Don’t let extra work or social obligations keep you from taking it.

• Plan your vacation at least six months in advance. You’ll be more likely to take it if you plan far in advance; moreover, you can often get better hotel rates and cruise fares by booking early.

What do you think? Do you agree that Americans should have more vacation time? Also, share your tips for maximizing your vacation time.