The Importance of Taking a Break

Relaxation, including resting, savoring the moment, and “doing nothing”, have been found to be associated with health and well-being during a vacation or break. In fact, passive activities like relaxation were also linked to longer effects on well-being post-vacation (de Bloom et al., 2013).

Even if you have some commitments during the next week, taking a short break of 2-4 days has been shown to be effective in improving stress and well-being (Blank et al., 2018; de Bloom et al., 2012; Marzuq & Drach-Zahavy, 2012; Packer, 2021).

So what could that look like? Here’s some suggestions from research and fellow students:

• “Spend time in ‘soft fascination’ activities that hold your attention effortlessly while allowing some headspace for engagement in reflection, for example, relaxing in nature” (Packer, 2021, p. 10)

“On breaks, I tried to explore different places in West Lafayette. I was kinda surprised by the different walking trails nearby. I didn’t really leave campus but it felt like I had.”

• “Intentionally detach from work [school] during the vacation” (Packer, 2021, p. 10)

“I make sure I check my email and Brightspace a few times on Friday or early Saturday but then I don’t check it at all until the end of break.”

“It can be hard when you have an exam right when you get back from break. I like to spend the first two days of break studying and getting ready so that I don’t have to worry about it the rest of the time. But I know my roommate hates that and prefers to start her break right away. I guess it is best to do what will help YOU relax the most.”

“When I had some research responsibilities over break, I knew I couldn’t fully shutdown from school stuff. I found setting two alarms – one to start my project work time and more importantly one to end that time- was want helped me. I could end up spending hours working through the project tasks so keeping it limited to the time between alarms let me disconnect.”

• “Limit the amount of time spent in work-like activities” (Packer, 2021, p. 10)

“It really helped me to limit my time on my laptop over breaks. I feel like I have to be in front of my computer all the time.”

Taking a break isn’t just important for you as a college student, but it is a life skill you will use in your career as well.

So whether you’re traveling somewhere new, staying near campus, or going back home, make sure you take care of yourself – taking a break (even short ones) is important!