Yours truly is, technically speaking, on vacation. Four of us are Griswolding in the ultimate adventure vehicle some 1,300 miles from home, and despite the 24/7 demands of the modern media monkey, it’s pretty sweet. Turns out there is science behind the benefits we draw from vacations, and research shows that interrupting your break like this actually enhances it.

The Boston Globe recently reported on the science of getting away from it all. Here, according to the Globe, are seven nuggets of wisdom to keep in mind as the countdown to the weekend ticks down. Now, get outta here.

1. How long we take off probably counts for less than we think, and in the aggregate, taking more short trips leaves us happier than taking a few long ones.

2. We’re often happier planning a trip than actually taking it.

3. Interrupting a vacation — far from being a nuisance — can make us enjoy it more.

4. How a trip ends matters more than how it begins.

5. Who you’re with matters as much as where you go.

6. If you want to remember a vacation vividly, do something during it that you’ve never done before.

7. Force yourself to actually take the time off in the first place. People, it turns out, are as prone to procrastinate when it comes to pleasurable things as unpleasant ones.