An Exploratory Investigation of Undergraduate Students' Values and Experiences with Breaks, Leisure, and Rest

In the face of worsening college student mental health, calls for greater rest and leisure are abundant. However, without an understanding of student attitudes and experiences with rest, improved mental health through rest are limited. The current study surveyed this critical context in 280 college students across two institutions by examining their attitudes, challenges, and experiences with rest. Results showed students report valuing rest as important to their productivity as students but also report feeling guilty when resting and not working. Students reported that the most common way to recognize it is time to take a break was because of physiological symptoms, including headache, eye fatigue, stomachaches, racing heart, headaches, and exhaustion. Despite students reporting a range of leisure and rest activities, including socializing, watching TV, creative hobbies, and walking, they also reported multiple barriers to resting. This included schoolwork, employment, and extracurriculars, plus feelings of guilt and worries about unfinished work. Our results indicate that, while students may believe that rest is important, they need support managing negative emotions, intrusive thoughts of unfinished work, or guilt during their rest periods to receive the full benefits of rest and leisure.