When most people hear the word “Christmas,” their mind races to holiday cookies, singing carols and spending time with family. For college students, though, the arrival of the holiday season can be synonymous with one word: stress. It’s not the worries about traveling back home or getting the gift shopping done that are to blame. Before the holiday cheer can set in, college students are faced with
dreaded finals.

In 2015, a survey conducted by the American College Health Association shed light on the toll that excessive stress is taking on students’ mental health. According to the survey, one in four students reported being diagnosed with or treated for a mental health disorder in the prior year. One-fifth of students surveyed reported suicidal thoughts, and nearly 20 percent reported self-injury.

These numbers paint a sorrowful picture. It’s clear that student mental health is suffering. This is only exacerbated during the closing weeks of the semester, as the deadlines and pressures to perform well begin to close in. College is meant to be a place to grow as one experiences new ideas and studies their chosen field. Unfortunately, it has become characterized by burdensome workloads deteriorating students’ psychological well-being.

Professors insist on cramming last-minute projects and papers into the final days of the semester. Students spend hours and hours hunched over books and typing away on their laptops, overcome with exhaustion and dreaming of the winter break that can’t come fast enough.

During finals week, it can seem like you’re faced with insurmountable tasks before you. However, it’s imperative to remember that the test is far less important than your health. Ten years from now, when you look back on your college days nostalgically, you won’t be thinking about the score you got on that test.

Instead, you’ll recount the time you took for yourself and the relief you felt from shameless self-prioritization.

Supplement an hour of studying with an hour of binge-watching Netflix. Consume too much cookie dough. Dance around in sweatpants. It’s worth it.

This finals season, take a break before you take a final. You deserve it.