A “vacation” from email might be a simple prescription for improving work performance, suggests a new study by the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and U.S. Army researchers. “We found that when you remove email from workers’ lives, they multitask less and experience less stress,” says UCI Informatics Professor Gloria Mark, who co-authored the study.

Participants reported feeling better able to do their jobs and stay on task, and they were happier to interact with others in person. Also, getting up and walking to someone else’s desk instead of emailing provided physical exercise.