Child & Adolescent Development
As educators, we often hear about the importance of self-care during summer break—taking time to relax, travel, or sleep in. While resting our bodies is vital, the need to rest our brains often goes overlooked. After all, teaching isn’t just physically exhausting. It’s an intense cognitive and emotional workout, too.
Think about it: From lesson planning to managing classroom dynamics, from differentiating instruction to resolving conflicts, teachers make thousands of decisions each day, all while navigating emotional highs and lows with students, colleagues, and families. Our brains fire on all cylinders from August to June.
What if we moved beyond the typical “self-care” checklist this summer and focused on intentional brain rest?
Here are some research-backed, easy-to-implement strategies to help you rest and refresh your brain this summer—and why it matters more than you think.
Why it works: According to Harvard Health, giving your brain actual downtime when it’s not actively processing input can boost cognitive performance in the long run.
Try this: Schedule 10–15 minutes daily of true mental stillness. No screens, podcasts, or multitasking. Sit outside, walk without your phone, or even stare out the window. Let your thoughts wander without a goal.
How it helps: This mental idleness allows the brain to process memories, form creative connections, and recover from constant stimulation.
Why it works: Being bored is good for your brain. Select Health explains that boredom sparks creativity and allows the mind to wander in productive, restorative ways.
Try this: Resist the urge to fill every quiet moment. Let yourself sit silently during a car ride, wait in line without your phone, or spend an afternoon without a plan.
How it helps: This gives your brain a chance to daydream, decompress, and access deeper levels of thought you might miss during the school year.
Why it works: Teaching takes an emotional toll. You may carry stories and stress from the year that linger in the background of your mind.
Try this: Write in a journal, talk with a friend, or debrief with a trusted colleague. Reflect on what weighed on you this year, and release it.
How it helps: Processing emotional stress helps prevent mental burnout and makes room for new, positive energy in the year ahead.
Why it works: Engaging in enjoyable, mentally light activities, like puzzles, painting, or reading fiction, refreshes the brain and boosts well-being.
Try this: Set aside time for creative hobbies or new experiences without turning them into productivity projects. Paint for fun or read a novel just because it interests you.
How it helps: These activities offer gentle mental stimulation while giving your brain a break from the relentless decision-making and pressure of the school year.
When we prioritize brain rest, not just physical rest, we return to school more energized, patient, and clear-minded. Brain rest sharpens focus, reduces stress, improves memory, and restores emotional balance. It’s the renewal that goes beyond spa days and strengthens our capacity to teach, connect, and lead.
So this summer, instead of packing your schedule with “shoulds,” try slowing down. Let your mind breathe. Permit yourself to do less, not just for your body, but for your brain. You’ve earned it.
Kristen Vincent is the author of Make Learning Meaningful: How to Leverage the Brain’s Natural Learning Cycle in K–8 Classrooms.