To help your teen reach their fullest potential, chances are you encourage them to focus on setting themselves up for success in the future.
If your teen has good standardized test scores, a high GPA, and no shortage of extracurricular and volunteer activities on their resume, they will have a good chance of getting into a great college and getting a great job once they finish high school.
While many parents know the benefits of helping their teens build their resumes, they often overlook one of the most important activities that their teens can do to prepare for their future: resting.
While this might seem counterproductive, taking the time to rest and recharge is vital for every teen’s success.
If your teen is feeling too overwhelmed and too burned out to put their best effort into their schoolwork or afterschool activities, it can cause more harm than good.
The last thing you want is for your teen to work so hard trying to fill their resume and boost their chances of college admission that they get too stressed out and get in the way of their own success.
Although encouraging your teen to get good grades and participate in extracurricular activities is important, it is equally important for you to encourage your teen to rest and recharge.
Having time to rest will help your teen in three key ways:
1. Improving mental health
Rest is essential for helping the body self-regulate, stabilize, and heal. If your teen struggles with big emotions or has difficulty managing their anxiety, depression, or other mood disorder, these problems will only intensify if they are not getting an adequate amount of rest each day.
Even short mental breaks are refreshing and can reduce the level of stress and anxiety that your teen experiences each day.
When the body is under a lot of stress, it can trigger a fight-or-flight response, leading to feelings of fear and anxiety as well as physical symptoms like increased blood pressure and heart rate.
Rest helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system which counteracts the sympathetic nervous system that creates this fight-or-flight response. When your teen gets a chance to relax, breathe, and rest, it reduces stress levels and promotes mental health, making it easier for them to reach their goals in life.
2. Boosting productivity
While rest might seem unproductive in the moment, it can make a major difference when it comes to your teen’s productivity levels.
Just like a runner is not able to perform as well when their leg muscles are fatigued and overworn, your teen will have trouble staying focused and productive if they don’t get a chance to give their brain some rest.
Have you ever struggled to figure out the solution to a problem or to come up with a plan to approach an issue at work only for the answer to come to you immediately when you’re driving home, while you’re taking a shower, or after you wake up in the morning? This is because sometimes your brain needs a bit of a break in order to sharpen its focus when you are ready to return to the task at hand.
When your teen takes a break, they will gain the energy and focus they need to be more productive when it's time for them to work.
3. Fighting burnout
If your teen is juggling several responsibilities without taking breaks or getting the chance to rest, eventually they are going to get tired and drop the ball.
Think about all of the responsibilities on your teen’s plate: their homework, their afterschool job, their extracurricular activities, their looming SAT or ACT exams, their volunteer activities, their friendships, their relationships, their physical and mental health. The list goes on and on!
Expecting your teen to be able to manage all of these parts of their life well without taking time to practice self-care or to unwind and give themselves a break will eventually cause them to experience burnout. When this happens, their responsibilities can quickly fall through the cracks, and they will have trouble handling any of these activities at all.
Letting your teen take the weekend off of studying for the SAT or encouraging them to spend time each day doing restful activities for their own peace and enjoyment will help fight burnout and allow them to handle the tasks and challenges that come their way.