Does taking a vacation improve the mental health of students when they return to school?

Does taking a vacation improve the mental health of students when they return to school?

Vacation is something that nearly every high school student looks forward to. Just the thought of being out of school, whether or not one is going anywhere, is exciting in itself.

However, it can be noticed that after a vacation of more than a weekend, students can come off as irritable because they have to return to school. Is there a concrete reason for this? The answer is yes.

According to Allina Health, the importance of vacation is quite simplistic: better sleep patterns, less stress, more motivation, less likely to contract a heart disease, and a happier life.

It is important, when coming back to a daily schedule from vacation to allow yourself time to recuperate. Not all vacations are stress-free, so remember to take care of yourself after the fact.

According to Psychology-spot.com, “Although it may seem contradictory, the fact is that vacations help keep us focused […] Therefore, people who work continuously without taking vacation, often feel blocked and have difficulty concentrating. Instead, when we return from vacation we feel full of energy, our ability to react is increased and we’re able to remain focused longer.”

Not taking enough vacation time can be detrimental to growing students. It can also cause drowsiness and irritability in students and their attitudes.

It can be reasonably inferred that vacation is valued so much in this time period that the thought of returning to school is frightening.

However, many Ripon High School students feel as though coming back to school from vacation is beneficial to their mental health.

“It’s nice [going on vacation] because it refreshes me and helps me come back with a clear mindset,” junior Maddie Mello states.

“I think vacation does improve your mental health because it gives you a break from the stress that comes from school, homework, and tests. It allows you to relax and reset,” sophomore Hailey Loechler states.

“Stressing out over trivial stuff in school is the worst, which makes having the ability to take some time off and recuperate really nice.”

— Junior Maddie Mello

After a while, students can become familiar with the daily school schedule again and might not be as irritable as before. It is no secret that most students do not value or like school as much as they like staying at home in bed. However, an extra day off might be what they need to reset their minds and ready themselves for anything thrown their way.

“Stressing out over trivial stuff in school is the worst, which makes having the ability to take some time off and recuperate really nice,” Mello states.