Some call it Twixmas. Others call it Feral Week. The period between Christmas and New Year's Eve is the perfect time to do nothing — and experts say we need it.

Twixmas , aka Dead Week , or Feral Week , is when we get the urge to take a break between Christmas and New Year’s Eve .

Author Celeste Headlee is an advocate for people to prioritize their personal well-being over productivity.

Psychoanalyst Peggy Loo says long working hours can lead to early death from stroke and heart disease.

Some people will have more leeway than others when it comes to taking it easy during the holidays .

If you’re entitled to time off throughout the year , use it, and set better boundaries.

Ditch your phone during your breaks.

Save work stuff for your work space.

It’s still a far cry from life before the Industrial Revolution — when weddings and holidays merited days-long celebrations — but they’re the sort of positive signs that give her hope. “This whole thing of trying to keep the holidays and celebrations as short as possible, that's an extremely new development in human history,” she says. “And what that tells me is that we changed it not that long ago — which means we can change it back.” If you buy something through a link in this article, we may earn commission..