Long breaks from school, such as summer, winter, or spring vacation, are intended to give students time to rest, relax, and recover from academic stress. While breaks can benefit mental health, research has shown that they can also negatively affect students' work ethics. Extended time away from structured learning often disrupts routines and lowers motivation, and overall makes it harder for students to return to productive habits when school resumes.
One of the most researched effects of long breaks is learning loss. Studies on summer learning loss show that students lose an average of about one month of academic progress over long breaks, especially in core curriculum subjects like math and reading. The impact of long breaks is not solely understanding and knowledge, it also spans to student confidence and study habits. When students return to school feeling behind or lacking prior comprehension, they may feel less motivated to put in as much effort as they otherwise would, weakening their overall work ethic.
BHS Junior Violet Potts described the transition from a long break to school as mentally challenging. “They definitely take a toll on my mental health and also just my mental clarity because I feel a lot less motivated and have to do a big reset to get back into the flow of school,” Potts said. Although she feels more rested after breaks, she explained that she often feels less academically prepared because vacations are a time where students can fully disengage. “It’s a time to turn off your brain for a good chunk of time.” Potts elaborated, describing the shift as “a blaring alarm to turn your brain back on.”
Long breaks also significantly change how students spend their time. Research shows that during summer vacation, teenagers spend about 5.5 fewer hours per weekday on educational activities. Much of that excess time is spent on social media, video games, and socializing. Without a structured daily schedule, many students struggle to manage their time effectively. This lack of structure often leads to procrastination and a lack of discipline in achieving goals.
Motivation often declines the longer and more unstructured the break is. While short breaks during the school year can improve focus and reduce stress, long breaks tend to interrupt academic performance. Research has shown that students frequently have trouble transitioning back into schoolwork after extended time off, and many have reported feeling overwhelmed by assignments and expectations at the start of a new term; resulting in reduced effort or engagement.
Potts explained that while breaks are beneficial and a necessary time for students to disconnect from their usual lives, the adjustment period can hinder performance. “It’s very hard to settle back into routine when you’ve created a new break routine,” Potts said. She also noted that although breaks reduce stress while they are happening, the return to school can initially feel overwhelming. “The first couple weeks of coming back, the stress of being stagnant over break hits,” Potts said, “but eventually it evens out,” she added.
However, not all students experience long breaks negatively. BHS Sophomore Lila Fortner described breaks as refreshing and motivating. “I feel very refreshed and recharged when I come home from break,” Fortner said. She explained that time away from school allows stress to reset, making it easier to focus afterward. “My mind gets a break from all the stress that builds up during school,” she explained.
Fortner also feels more academically prepared after breaks. “If there’s something to catch up on, I can do that over break,” she said. Unlike some students, she finds it easy to return to routine because she naturally prefers more structure. “I like having a routine, so I feel like it’s easy for me to get back into that,” Fortner said.
BHS Senior Cyrus Harrelson shared a similar perspective, emphasizing the broad benefits of physical and mental rest. “Long breaks like winter break provide me with a mental reset and give me an opportunity to break bad habits,” Harrelson said. He explained that resting after long periods of school helps him feel more prepared academically. “I feel like I'm more academically prepared because I just had the opportunity to rest,” Harrelson said.
Harrelson also said that breaks help him procrastinate less and increase his proactivity. “Breaks allow me to relax and feel more motivated for school, which decreases my procrastination,” Harrelson said. Although returning to routine is not instantaneous, he explained that it usually takes about a week to fully adjust. Like other students, Harrelson mentioned sleep schedule changes as a challenge. “I sleep in a lot more which makes it hard to go back to school,” he said. Despite this, he also believes that breaks are essential for restoring balance between schoolwork and personal life. “Without breaks, I think I would experience a lot more stress,” Harrelson said, adding that long breaks “greatly help students' academic success.”
BHS students indicate that long breaks can weaken students' work ethics by reducing implemented structure, disrupting routines, and lowering motivation. While students think breaks are important for rest and restoring level mental health, too much unstructured time can make it difficult for them to maintain productive habits. However, other students find that breaks can help them destress, unplug, and refresh their minds so they can tackle schoolwork and activities more effectively when they transition back into the school year. Overall, the impacts of a long break greatly vary depending on the student, their learning style, and their enjoyment of a structured schedule.