Sometimes, you need more than just a few days of PTO when taking a break from work. And all it might take\u00a0is a breather for the sake of your mental health — and that’s OK.<\/p>\n
Between\u00a0stressing out about\u00a0the holidays and\u00a0suddenly barreling towards the end of the year, now is the perfect time to take a mental health day for your wellbeing.<\/p>\n
You Need Your Sleep<\/strong> You Can Renew Your Commitment to Work<\/strong> You Can Finally Do Something for You<\/strong> You Can Catch up With the Changing Seasons<\/strong> You Deserve It<\/strong> xx, The FabFitFun Team<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":"Sometimes, you need more than just a few days of PTO when taking a break ...","author":252621,"featured_media":95021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/01180511\/IMG_1916-660x400.jpg","thumbnail_url_middle_card":"https:\/\/static.fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/01180511\/IMG_1916.jpg","formated_date":"December 2, 2016","category_name":"Wellness","category_icon":"https:\/\/d3vodd1ws13xud.cloudfront.net\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/10113835\/health-2.svg","author_name":"","trending":false,"sponsored":false,"random_color":"#fcbc62","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94997"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/252621"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94997\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fabfitfun.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIf you catch up on your sleep during the weekends and find that isn’t enough, you should dedicate\u00a0additional time during the week to give your brain a rest. Whether you take a break from social media, bingeing on Netflix, or just relax alone, make it a goal to get rest.\u00a0According to Harvard University, lack of sleep increases your risk of conditions<\/a> like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Sleeplessness also affects your abilities to think clearly and make good judgments — so get enough sleep.<\/p>\n
\nBurnout is very<\/em> real in the workplace. When you push yourself harder and harder on a daily basis, something inside\u00a0has to give out — which results in stress, unhappiness, or frequent mood swings. That’s when you know it’s time for a day off. Typically, you’ll come back more refreshed and renewed in your commitment and enthusiasm for your work.<\/p>\n
\nTaking a mental health day doesn’t\u00a0mean it’s time\u00a0to clean\u00a0your entire house. Instead, make it\u00a0your objective to do what you like to do — whether you drink some coffee at your favorite cafe or catch up on the latest Netflix show<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nIf you live in a location where winter is coming (or has already arrived), you\u2019re at greater risk for seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This form of depression affects people at times of the year when the sun isn\u2019t out as much. Seasonal depression symptoms include irritability, trouble sleeping, appetite changes, and feeling more tired than usual, according to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>. If these symptoms sound familiar, take some time to enjoy the changing season. Go outside and catch a bit of sunshine…rest. Recharge your batteries \u2013 you\u2019ll need the energy boost for the holiday season.<\/p>\n
\nYou work hard on a daily basis, dedicating yourself to your job, your interests, and your friends and family. Every once in a while, you need to take a break from being \u201cyou\u201d and just be a couch potato. It\u2019s perfectly OK\u00a0to do something just for yourself every once in a while, so don’t be afraid to take a break\u00a0if you need one.<\/p>\n