After weeks of lectures, early morning pre-test cramming, and seemingly endless exams, it’s finally summer break.
After spending so much of the year in class, all you want to do is be lazy – and that’s actually okay. While your peers may be planning jobs/internships, studying abroad, or taking summer classes, there’s nothing wrong with deciding to use the summer to catch up on sleep, binge-watch Netflix shows, and eat junk food.
It’s Science
According to the New Yorker, a Harvard study found that the warm and pleasant weather that comes with summer actually makes us less productive. It’s actually bad weather that brings us to work harder. It can take up to two weeks to adjust to the change in weather, which is part of why we feel lazy at the end of a long school year. So if that’s how you’re feeling, take a break and blame science.
Catch Up
Sleep is critically important for our health, and the lack of it can cause a myriad of problems. Some of these issues include: chronic fatigue, headaches, decreased concentration, weight gain, depression, early signs of aging, and a lowered immune system. Late nights of studying and early morning classes can really wear on you, so use this break to recharge. Feel free to fall asleep when you want, and wake up when you’re feeling happy and refreshed.
Zen-sational
Practice meditation. What better time to learn the art of pure nothingness than summer? Meditation and yoga both help to clear your mind by keeping you present and helping you get in tune with your body. This technique helps with stress management and lowers both anxiety and blood pressure. Master it now, and you’ll have a useful tool with the stress picks up in Fall. There are many guided meditation audio recordings on Youtube, so all you’ll need is a smartphone, a speaker or headphones, and a comfortable place to lay down to begin finding your peace.
Go Home
You’re getting older and so are your parents. Use this time to hang out with them. Indulge in free food, play with your dog, chill with old friends from grade school, and just enjoy having fewer responsibilities. Your mother may appreciate the opportunity to baby you, and you may find that you don’t mind it either.
It’s fine to let go a little. Go home, eat fried food, sunbathe at the pool, or use this time to catch up on a tv show you’ve been dying finish. Don’t feel guilty about doing nothing on your time off. Time enjoyed is not time wasted.
About the Author: Aniqa Chowdhury is a third-year Communications major at San Diego State University with a growing passion for creative writing. Aside from writing, she also enjoys taking public speaking classes and reading fiction novels. Her hope is to work in the entertainment industry when she graduates.
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