Gap Year for Mental Health: How To Plan One

Why Take a Gap Year for Your Mental Health?

Harvard Business Review reports that more than one third of incoming freshmen face mental health challenges, a statistic drawn from a 2018 study by Auerbach et al., which are linked to lower academic performance and higher dropout rates (Auerbach et al., qtd. in DiDonna 2). Separate research also finds that gap year students return to school more motivated, perform better, and benefit from time spent away from academic pressures (Martin, qtd. in DiDonna 2-3).

Taking a structured break will offer you the chance to reflect, recharge, and develop self-awareness that will translate into emotional resilience in the long run.

Academic Pressure & Why You Might Need a Break: Stress and Burnout in High School Grads

Your senior year of high school can get pretty crazy. You’re juggling AP exams, SATs, ACTs, ABCs, XYZs (okay maybe not the last two) and the combination of family expectations plus the pressure of college admissions can get so overwhelming.

Props to those who are able to handle it.

But this grind can leave young people feeling emotionally tired before they’ve even stepped foot into their college campus. This is why students look into taking a gap year semester program after high school. In fact, 88% of gap year alumni did not select parental or peer encouragement as a central factor in deciding to go on a gap year (Gap Year Association 9).

Studies show that chronic stress at this age can negatively affect your sleep, focus, and academic performance. There are two main consequences: 1) it impacts your mental health and 2) it impacts your long-term learning results.

A gap year offers a natural pause to recover and build a stronger foundation for college life and beyond. Taking a 1-year break can renew motivation for study and is associated with gains in maturity, resilience, and self-reliance (Haigler & Nelson).

It’s like when you’re on a rollercoaster and slowly rise to the top and then it’s flat for a couple of seconds (this is the gap year) before descending into chaos, anxiety, and suffering (just kidding, college is very fun and awesome!).

Are You Burned Out? 5 Signs You Might Need a Gap Year

• You’re waking up tired even after a full night’s sleep
• School deadlines give you physical anxiety
• You’ve lost interest in things that used to excite you
• You feel emotionally numb or irritable all the time
• You’re dreading the idea of starting college, not excited by it

Emotional Benefits of Taking a Break

When you step away from structured schooling, you’ll have the chance to focus on your internal growth. This will lead to the following:

• Improved emotional intelligence: Time spent in reflective activities like journaling, mindfulness, or therapy helps students recognize and regulate their emotions.
• Increased self-awareness: Understanding one’s own values and priorities becomes easier outside of the academic playing field.
• Reduced anxiety and depression: Participants report that a break from educational pressure significantly lowers their base stress levels.
• Improved relationships: With more emotional range, students are able to reconnect with family and build deeper friendships.

Mindfulness practices, in particular, support mental well-being. This mindfulness strengthens executive function and students learn to notice their thoughts without judgment. This is a self-care strategy, and one of the multiple gap year life skills that you’ll continue to use as you get older. Plus, it’s been linked to lower cortisol levels and greater resilience in stressful situations (Brown et al. qtd. in Creswell and Lindsay 403).

Did you know? In the United States, monthly searches for “gap year” averaged 6,600 in 2025, up 22% year-over-year and up 50% in the last three months (Google Keyword Planner).

Confidence, Resilience, and Personal Growth

Taking a gap year is a natural way to experience personal development and growth. Depending on the type of gap year program you choose, you could choose to travel, volunteer, or engage in independent learning. Additionally, you’ll be put in unfamiliar situations outside of your comfort zone. But it’s moments like these which will develop your self-confidence and ability to adapt to new situations.

Low self-confidence is associated with repeated failures or exposure to negative environments. Taking a gap year can offer opportunities for personal growth through diverse experiences, which may help individuals develop a more balanced self-image. Encountering challenges, adapting to unfamiliar settings, and interacting with people from different backgrounds helps support greater resilience and emotional maturity.

Although I am ethnically Korean, I was born and raised in Guatemala and grew up speaking Spanish at home. Going to my Korean-side family’s gatherings I was always too shy to try to speak. This feeling of embarrassment stuck with me until I decided to take a gap year and spend a year studying Korean. At the next family gathering, rather than relying on my cousins to translate, I had the courage to reply to my uncles and aunts in Korean.

My one piece of advice is that you should set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-bound) during this time. By doing so, you’ll be able to manage your personal and emotional growth. My friends, and I, personally, use this period to track our progress, reflect on our growth, and adjust course.

And guess what? These are the things you’ll need to be doing during college and at work.

Mindfulness and Travel: Mental Reset

Travel is transformative.

I had the privilege of being a Program Leader for a group of students who came to South Korea. One of the teachers that came with the students on the trip was a history teacher. We had an extremely productive conversation discussing the benefits travel brings for students.

At school, these students had learned about Sejong the Great only through textbooks and PowerPoints. During their trip to South Korea though, the students got to roam around the palace where Sejong the Great lived. Talk about experiential learning.

Taking a gap year to travel will allow you to immerse yourself in different cultures, environments, and daily routines that will force you to appreciate the present moment.

Mindfulness is developed through experiences like volunteering at an organic farm, hiking remote trails, or navigating public transport in a new country. All these experiences teach students to focus, adapt, and appreciate the little things and small wins.

These moments build emotional agility which aids in high-pressure academic settings. They also reinforce neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to adapt and rewire itself through new experiences.

So, as you continue to debate college vs taking a gap year, think about the transformation you’d want to experience.

Her findings also show that taking a gap year boosts college performance, eases social adjustment, supports students who need to work and save money and improves mental health (Morris 59-60). The last part is especially true for those facing burnout or emotional challenges.

According to the CDC, children’s mental health depends on reaching emotional milestones, learning social skills, and coping with problems. Their well-being is shaped by the quality of relationships and environments. And a gap year is a solid reset toward all that.

Improved self-confidence, stress reduction, greater life satisfaction, happiness, mental adaptability. These are some of the mental health benefits of a gap year which will be the foundation for your personal, academic, and professional future.

Download the “Gap Year Mental Health Checklist”

(Includes reflective prompts, wellness goals, and recommended mindfulness practices.)

Read On

• What Is a Gap Year? Benefits, Programs, and How It Works
• Gap Year After High School: Pros, Cons, and How to Plan It
• How to Afford a Gap Year: Financial Aid, Scholarships & Budgeting
• Volunteer Abroad During Your Gap Year
• Life Skills You’ll Learn on a Gap Year