The weekend is sacred for all of us. Everybody looks forward to the weekend. It’s the only escape that everyone has from the hellish classroom or workplace that allows for prolonged relaxation. If someone still has energy and doesn’t want to relax, then the weekend serves as a spot for any plans to go out with friends and have fun. Nobody wants to do anything after work or after school because everyone’s too damn tired and just wants to go home where they have more work waiting for them to get through. The only true relaxation and freedom comes from Saturday and Sunday—but is two days really enough?

While nobody ever really opposes a day off during a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday, the best ones are always on Fridays or Mondays. Everyone loves a three-day weekend, especially the burnt-out student whose sleep debt has been accumulating for several days. This allows for an extra day to cool off and charge the batteries. Holidays like Labor Day are especially precious because they give the tired students and workers one more day to relax. If we’re being honest here, not a lot of people know really much anything about the history of Labor Day or how it came to be a holiday, yet we all welcome it with open arms.

The effect that three days off a week has on productivity of workers is no secret either. It’s been seen that a three-day weekend has had positive effects on the productivity and stability of employment, Business Insider reports.

“The 3-day weekend has also been linked to reducing time off requests by 9% and increased overall productivity. KFC Japan was able to retain more employees… The ability to recruit and retain top talent is a massive cost saver alone.”

Some people (particularly employers) would argue that an extra day off for workers would lead to a decrease of productivity, but the evidence is clear. A three-day weekend allows for workers to stay productive throughout the week and leads to less requests for days off, and workers will be more likely to stay at their job. Stability of employees alone should be enough for business owners and managers to be convinced, but for them time is money.

Mental health and stability also tends to benefit from that extra day off. Two days is a decent amount of time for detox from the stress-filled week, but when chores and other factors are added into the equation, there isn’t really much time left to relax. Dr. E Kevin Kelloway explains the contrast of three days versus two days.

“Over long weekends, individuals are better able to detach from, and recover from, their work situation… almost no recovery happened on a regular two day weekend… this is because weekends are frequently spent doing necessary chores and errands rather than relaxing.”

Three days off allows for more time to relax and take a step back from the duties of the week. Sure, its only one more added to the weekend we currently have, but won’t that one extra day give us all that extra boost we need to pull through the rest of the week? If anything, a three day weekend would certainly yield significant results in the mental health of students and workers. Everyone hates Mondays anyways.