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The Collegian Weekly

The opinion of The Collegian editorial staff

Take a real rest during spring break

With spring break around the corner, it can be easy to neglect work until the week off, and it’s all too tempting to use vacation to catch up on school or work ahead. While working over the break may be inevitable, taking most or all of spring break off from school work can provide great benefits, mentally, physically, and academically. Humans aren’t meant to work 24/7, and being a hard worker shouldn’t extend to feeling guilty for a few days spent “unproductively.”

Resting over break is more than simply getting 8+ hours of sleep a night.

According to sleep expert Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith, whose research focuses on rest and burnout, there are seven types of rest that everyone needs: physical, mental, sensory, creative, social, emotional, and spiritual. Physical rest can include sleeping, but also extends to yoga and stretching. Mental rest can be as simple as taking small breaks throughout the day, and sensory rest includes taking a break from bright lights, electronics, and background noise to avoid being overstimulated. Creative rest takes the form of appreciating art and nature, while social and emotional rest include surrounding yourself with positive people. Finally, spiritual rest includes prayer, meditation, and other aspects of faith life.

By nurturing these various areas of our mind, body, and soul, Dalton-Smith found improvements in burnout, lack of energy, and chronic fatigue. Over spring break, students and staff will have a week to give themselves rest in these key areas. Although personal commitments and schedules may demand working over the break, don’t fall into a trap of feeling bad for taking time off. Hang out with family and friends, do some yoga or artwork, pray, read a fun book—give your brain a break so you come back to campus refreshed and ready to finish the semester strong. Letting yourself take real rest will boost both your health and productivity in the long run.