By Caitlyn Meisner | Staff Writer

Taking one day off from studying and homework during the week is essential to manage your stress levels, have a social life and avoid academic burnout.

With midterms coming up or just finishing, we all need a break from school. Even if we don’t have a weeklong break in the fall semester until Thanksgiving, we all need to ensure we’re getting enough rest and relaxation.

This semester, I’m taking six classes, working two jobs, maintaining some sort of work-life balance and in a long-distance relationship. In summary, I’m stressed and tired all the time.

Despite my busy life, I always try to find time over the weekend to ensure I am emotionally and mentally OK. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do this during the week, but it must be a priority. Without these weekly check-ins, I think I might have gone crazy by now.

I propose we all take one day over the weekend, either Saturday or Sunday, to forget about homework and enjoy our lives. Whether we sit on the couch and watch TV all day or go hiking at Cameron Park, students need a day to rest.

I know it can be especially hard to detach yourself from school because being a college student is more than a full-time job. We don’t get to hop in the car and leave school behind after 5 p.m.; we live and breathe college until we graduate.

American Psychological Association research has shown people who experience more psychological detachment from work during off-hours, like weekends, report higher life satisfaction than those who do not.

There are similar findings in the effects of vacations on someone’s health and well-being. Studies have shown people who take vacations have reported less exhaustion, fewer health complaints and greater life satisfaction. Unfortunately, these effects lasted only a few weeks, but you can make a change.

Although Waco probably isn’t a vacation hot spot for 18- to 22-year-olds, it is for our family. We can all make it a vacation, just once a week.

If you have a pool at your apartment, that’s great. Go sit out by the pool, put on some music and pretend you’re at a beach. I’m sure the heat of the Texas sun makes it feel that way.

If you don’t have a pool at your apartment, that’s great too. Go annoy your pool-equipped friends to take you to their Waco paradise.

I recognize this can be difficult, but every week is different. If you know you’re going to have a homework-filled weekend, take the time another night to relax and catch up on your favorite TV show.

We all need these rest days. I urge you to take them for yourself. You are the person going to class, reading textbooks, doing math problems and studying in Moody Memorial Library until 11 p.m., so take care of yourself.

See you next Saturday for a restful, “Friends”-filled weekend.