Winter can be a time of immense rest to recharge from the stresses of work and school obligations. Many set new goals and routines to make them more productive in the New Year. However, the winter can also be a time when students tend to experience burnout after consistent weeks of work to finish out the semester. After Christmas, as the end of a semester comes near, many students start to experience high academic stress and loss of motivation. Studies show that every two in five students report experiencing “academic burnout” and a loss of motivation during the colder months.
Simple factors such as the sky getting dark earlier and a lull from having little to look forward to contribute to this academic and mental burnout experienced by students. Many students tend to lose sleep and start eating poorly, which can also contribute to them being unable to put their full effort into their work. In order to compensate for this burnout experienced by many students, schools should provide sufficient breaks to allow students to come back feeling refreshed and eager to finish out the semester strong.
Students need sufficient time to relax and recharge during the winter in order to carry out tasks and assignments to their full academic potential. Certain schools will allow students a two-week break over Christmas and long weekends for holidays in January and February to help ease the stress of the buildup of assignments nearing the end of the semester. Universities say that effective breaks can reduce stress and improve performance capacity. These long breaks can also allow students to learn methods that can help them manage their time while they are in school and can contribute to less stress and cramming of assignments. Overall, students rely on these breaks to allow their minds to recharge after exerting their energy in school. Therefore, schools should have breaks built into the year to help students to remain in good academic standing and compensate for the academic burnout experienced by many students.