I can only speak for myself but I took 4 times a year or more off. Three of those times I spent backpacking and traveling in Australia, NZ and South-East Asia, and I spent time doing something else such as fruit-picking and working as a Dive Master and scuba diving for half a year. (Best times really)

Getting back to work was as simple as making a few phone calls essentially and exploring my network. Granted, it was a different time (decades ago) and I didn't look for a mega corp job that requires arduous interview process.

Since then when changing jobs and interviewing I've only ever been asked once about those "gaps" in my resume and I said that I took time off to travel and explore and was greeted with enthusiasm only.

I've never taken a gap year, but all I will say is that there is also a risk to remaining in one's comfort.

I took 2 years off where I made 0 income. Insurance was covered by the government and my healthcare was quite good. I didn't pay taxes because I didn't make any income. Getting back into the workforce happened literally within a single day (this was ~4 years ago when the market was different, not sure the same thing would happen now). I had no trouble switching jobs multiple times afterwards, either—recruiters and interviewers have never seemed to care that I took a break.

I was able to take some much needed time off to focus on personal projects and I'm extremely grateful I was able to do it.

My friends who didn't take time off were able to advance more in their careers, but I think it is a fair trade.

It's highly circumstantial depending on the person. I'm a better person for the challenges I'm facing, but I don't recommend it. I'd rather be compensated for the code I write.