I did that, medical leave for 6 months... the first month was great, after a while, without the rhythm of work, I fell into a mess. I didn't take care of my personal hygiene, laundry piled up, dishes were constantly in the sink... if everyday is a Saturday then there was always time to do it 'later'.
I got a preview of what I thought my dream retirement would be and it turned out to be a nightmare. It was so bad, I went back to school.
Now I make 2x what I used to 5 years ago and I have a better idea of what I actually want for myself.
I think it's totally normal to want to be responsibility free, but the responsibilities that we have often are what push in a direction in life.
You are probably right, but I feel like I need to experience that hell in order to get the motivation. I just quit a well paying physicist job after getting my phd because it all felt so pointless, and I have nothing lined up to replace it. Some people think I am mad, but I need to feel some kind of fear, and it isn't there at the moment.