Americans need to learn how to relax. The results of a survey conducted by Wakefield Research for Princess Cruises reveals more than half (54 percent) of Americans spend their vacation days dealing with personal obligations and family matters rather than finding nirvana. In fact, the mere thought of asking for a few extra days off causes more stress than asking for a pay raise for nearly a quarter (22 percent) of American workers.

The survey is timely in light of National Relaxation Day on Aug. 15. The relaxation deficit is so pronounced that just the thought of relaxing causes stress among one-third of the population, and 42 percent frequently feel guilty about relaxing.

“In the six years that Princess Cruises has commissioned this survey, we’ve continued to see stress levels rise year after year,” said Jan Swartz, president, Princess Cruises. “We aren’t giving ourselves permission to truly let go and relax, and whether that’s because of the demands on our intense lives or our own guilt, this is an unsustainable trend that can have a genuinely adverse impact on our society as a whole.”

On the upside, the survey shows the majority of Americans haven’t totally given up on the idea of finding relaxation. Ooohhhhmmmm.