Why everyone should take a mental health day this week

You know how it’s just easier to focus when you get back from a long weekend? There’s a scientific reason for that. “To be able to focus your brain must be able to block out all external stimuli, something it can’t do when you’re stressed out or overworked,” Dr Merrill says. Short-term stress can break your focus but over the long-term stress can have serious cognitive impacts, reducing concentration, learning and memory, according to research published in Nature. Thankfully these changes aren’t permanent and even taking just one day to destress can improve your cognitive abilities, he explains.