With life moving at such a fast pace, sometimes it becomes difficult to pause and take a much-needed break. Some even feel that taking breaks would be a waste of time and that they have the power to deal with large amounts of stress without breaks. The neglect of one’s physical and mental health can be the result of this, and it may lead to mental or emotional breakdowns, as well as burnout. Therefore, it is important to know the signs indicating the need to take a step back from constantly studying and working in order to avoid the unhealthiness of draining oneself physically and emotionally.
The Signs
Some of these signs include lacking the motivation to do anything, lacking the ability to sleep or rest properly, finding difficulty in focusing or concentrating, becoming easily irritated, getting stressed or anxious, feeling emotionally overwhelmed, feeling unwell on most days, and struggling to enjoy one’s favorite things or activities.
Take a Break
There may be one day out of the full year dedicated to having a mental health break. However, being humans who lead busy lives, several breaks may be necessary to live healthy. Simply, breaks are personalized to whatever allows one to step back, relax, and recharge. They differ for everyone, depending on what helps them feel renewed.
Some suggestions would be going outside to do a sport, enjoying food away from electronics to savor it, meditating, doing yoga, journaling, talking to someone, resting by sleeping early and taking power naps, reflecting to reminisce on good times, and doing something creative.
Benefits
The benefits of taking regular breaks are proven by studies. They can improve moods, general well-being, and performance capacity. They also help make one become more resilient when stressors come about, and they aid in dealing with life’s daily workload.
Giving oneself time to recharge is essential. It is not only okay to take a break after long periods of work-induced stress, but it is also necessary in order to maintain one’s physical and mental health – simply because they matter. It is important to note that this is not a sign of laziness or procrastination. One should take the amount of time needed for regular breaks, whether it be five minutes, hours, or days. A mixture of longer and more micro-breaks would be ideal and would allow one to pause and get back his or her sense of time, appreciation, and enjoyment in life in a healthy manner.