Tip of the day from the 'You Docs': Kick back, get smarter

Sure, vacations are great for both your stress levels and your sex life. But most people (especially those chained to their desks) forget that vacations also can improve your ability to invent the next Google or even figure out what Bob Dylan is saying when he talks.

How? Maps. Whether you're driving to a strange place, hiking an unfamiliar canyon or figuring out the subway system of a new city, you're using many different parts of your brain at once. Turn off the GPS (chill, you're on vacation, remember?) and instead use your visual-spatial skills to read the map, your verbal ones to explain what to do next ("Honey, turn left. Now!") — or, if you're the one driving, your decision-making skills to get out of a tight spot ("Yikes, NOT there, here!"). All require processing information quickly and remembering it for the return trip. What if you get lost? Think of it as more mental exercise: Solving the where-am-I? puzzle also contributes brain-building benefits.

Of course, the biggest challenge might be taking enough time off to get lost in the first place. A national survey by Expedia.com found that 31 percent of Americans don't take all the vacation days they get, and we average only about 14 days a year to begin with. The average worker in France gets 37 days (yes, you read that right) annually, according to the same survey. So the next time you and your partner plan a vacation, agree to get lost — on purpose. If all else fails, you can turn the GPS back on.