According to Tommiemedia.com, 62% of students found it difficult to come back to school after spring break, while 38% did not. But once our week-long break ends, is it refreshing, or does it make coming back to school more difficult? While spring break offers a break from prolonged exposure to stress, the transition back to the school routine can be challenging.

Falling out of routine is easy when you don’t have to go to school for a week. Waking up late, staying up even later or even being in a relaxed environment are all easy to get accustomed to. But when the break ends, getting back to normal is difficult, and time is possibly a stress factor if exams are coming up quickly. Blackbirdhealth.com listed “inconsistent sleep, increased screen use, emotional disregulation, and family stress” as results of unstructured time during spring break.

To stay prepared for the last marking period of the school year, Hopkinsmedicine.org recommends ways to stay on top of your routine. Having your return date on a calendar to mentally prepare yourself to go back to school will help your routine transition more smoothly. Regulating your sleep schedule to not have trouble falling asleep the night before school starts again and waking up early the morning of is crucial to have a good start to the end of the year. Also, setting small goals for yourself when you return to school will make the workload feel lighter and not so sudden.

To some other students, spring break gives the brain some needed rest, and when they come back to school, they feel refreshed and ready to power through the last quarter of the year. After winter break, students have a lot of work to complete before state testing and finals start. Abhmaryland.com stated, “Neuroscientists have found that continuous exposure to stress can alter your brain structure and lead to mental health issues like depression and anxiety.” It isn’t healthy for students to be coming to school every week for too long, so spring break is necessary to prevent burnout right before testing.

My advice to any student when spring break comes around is to enjoy your time off and let your brain relax, but apply good habits like using your calendar, regulating your sleep schedule, and setting small goals when you have to come back for the final quarter of the school year.