Feeling Drained? Take a Break!

Sometimes, it’s too easy for the day to just fly by. Going to work or class, finding time to make food and eat it, trying to keep in touch with family and friends, and all of the other daily activities, can be exhausting. If we do this too many days in a row, it’s common to feel burnt out. Whether you love being busy or enjoy quiet time alone, it’s important to remember to take a break. Everyone needs one to be able to keep going!

If you’ve heard someone say that taking time to rest is for the weak, get it out of your mind. Our brains aren’t designed to run at full speed all the time. It needs down time to recover and be ready to keep working, learning or even socializing. If you’re starting to feel drained, it’s time to take a break.

Not resting is bad for your brain

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Numerous studies have been conducted to figure out how to make us productive, happy, relaxed, and any other desirable state of being. It turns out that Microsoft actually did one of the largest studies on improving your brain, and it showed something surprising.

We are inundated with more ways to make ourselves more productive; we need to sit in a certain place while working, eat certain foods, sleep certain hours. There are tons more where those come from! However, the study showed that your brain needs to take a break.

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It simply isn’t sustainable to be “on” at all times. You need to take time for yourself to let your brain settle down. Taking the time to be mindful and rest will benefit you in the long run.

While learning a language, it’s okay to take a break

Immersion is without a doubt the best way to learn a language, but without a break, your brain will be exhausted. At that point, learning Spanish might feel more like a chore, and significantly less fun.

If you’re starting to feel this exhaustion, it’s okay to take a break! Take some time to do something that you want to do, not something that you have to do. If you need to watch something you like in English or listen to one of your favorite albums in English, that’s okay. It’s important to reset every once in a while. It doesn’t mean that you failed at immersion- it just means your brain needed a break from learning.