After a school year marked by heavy workloads, pressure, and emotional exhaustion, the summer break can become much more than just time off. Research shows that truly restorative rest depends on concrete conditions: mentally disconnecting, regaining a sense of control, reducing demands, and relying on relationships that help teachers recharge.
The first condition for a restorative summer is psychological detachment. In other words, teachers need time away from “school mode”: time when they are no longer dwelling on difficult situations from the past year or keeping their minds occupied with September’s urgent tasks. Behind the cliché of teachers’ “long vacations,” several studies remind us that teaching remains a demanding profession mentally, emotionally, and physically.
A study of Finnish teachers found that stress experienced during the workday can interfere with psychological detachment after work. In turn, insufficient detachment can contribute to persistent stress and negative affect — that is, negative emotions — from one day to the next. The authors emphasize, in particular, the importance of establishing clear boundaries between professional and personal life.
Another study conducted in Germany found that elementary and secondary school teachers reported more difficulty psychologically disconnecting from work than other workers. Emotional demands, pressure related to deadlines and performance, and multitasking emerged as risk factors, while support from colleagues appeared to be a protective factor.
In a longitudinal study of 37 German teachers, Heidari and colleagues (2021) observed improvements in stress levels and recovery during the summer break, unlike during the shorter Easter break.
Length, therefore, seems to matter. Six weeks may allow for deeper recovery, whereas two weeks may be too short, especially when the break is still used for grading, preparing meetings, or wrapping up unfinished tasks. In the qualitative study by Atalay and colleagues (2023), teachers described summer as a time for mental relief, perspective, family, and a break from routine.
In practical terms, this may mean turning off notifications, limiting work emails to a very small time window—or not checking them at all for a defined period—and accepting that not everything can be resolved before the new school year begins.
The second condition concerns autonomy. During the school year, teachers often work within a highly constrained environment: fixed schedules, unexpected events, administrative obligations, students’ needs, family expectations, and organizational changes. The Centre for Studies on Human Stress, drawing on the work of Sonia Lupien, reminds us that stress is often triggered by four ingredients: novelty, unpredictability, a threat to the ego, and a poor sense of control. This is known as the N.U.T.S. framework.
Summer can therefore play a restorative role when it gives teachers a genuine sense of agency: sleeping more, walking, reading, seeing loved ones, leaving some days completely unplanned, or focusing on a personal project. The goal is not to “have the perfect vacation,” but to rediscover a rhythm that feels chosen.
The third condition is to avoid turning summer into a disguised extension of the school year. Redoing every lesson plan, preparing every September sequence, or catching up on accumulated work may seem useful, but it can also cancel out the benefits of rest.
Quebec’s Conseil supérieur de l’éducation (CSE) points out that teachers’ health and well-being are linked to working conditions, available resources, and the specific realities of the profession—not only to individual factors. In the same spirit, the EdCan Network emphasizes the importance of systemic solutions: better balancing demands and resources, reducing workload, and supporting professional autonomy.
That said, for some teachers, summer can still be an opportunity to read, take professional development courses, reflect on their practice, or prepare for the upcoming school year. The key is to find the balance that works best for each person.
The fourth condition concerns social relationships. Family, friends, trusted colleagues, and community activities can help teachers step outside their professional role and reconnect with a broader sense of identity. But not every relationship is restorative: some conversations constantly bring teachers back to workplace tensions, complaints, or obligations.
Research on recovery from work identifies four experiences that are especially important after professional effort: psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery experiences—such as learning, creating, or engaging in a stimulating activity—and control over one’s free time. Among teachers, studies also associate these experiences, along with a sense of belonging, with greater well-being. The point, then, is not to fill the social calendar, but to choose activities and people that truly allow teachers to breathe.
Teachers’ summer breaks are often reduced, wrongly, to a long and privileged break. Research presents a different picture: they are a necessary period for lasting recovery. A clear mental break, renewed autonomy, a real reduction in demands, and restorative relationships are not luxuries; they are conditions for occupational health and well-being.
Rest is not automatically restorative. It depends, among other things, on the ability to mentally disconnect, reduce demands, and regain a sense of control.
Atalay, A., & Karaman Kepenekci, Y. (2023). School holidays from the perspectives of teachers. Journal of Advanced Education Studies, 5(Special Issue), 31–52. https://doi.org/10.48166/ejaes.1324490
Aulén, A.-M., Pakarinen, E., Feldt, T., & Lerkkanen, M.-K. (2022). Psychological detachment as a mediator between successive days’ job stress and negative affect of teachers. Frontiers in Education, 7, Article 903606. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.903606
Bennett, A. A., Bakker, A. B., & Field, J. G. (2018). Recovery from work-related effort: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(3), 262–275. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2217
Centre for Studies on Human Stress. (n.d.). Recipe for stress. https://humanstress.ca/stress/understand-your-stress/sources-of-stress/
Conseil supérieur de l’éducation. (2020). Santé et bien-être du personnel enseignant : Portrait de la situation et pistes de solutions. Gouvernement du Québec. https://www.cse.gouv.qc.ca/publications/sante-bien-etre-du-personnel-50-2114/
Heidari, J., Burton, N., McCuaig-Holcroft, L., & Kellmann, M. (2021). “I never thought it would be that bad”: Increasing teachers’ awareness of psychological well-being through recovery-stress monitoring and individualised feedback. Work. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-213543
Pressley, T., Sokal, L., Eblie Trudel, L., Walter, H. L., & Marshall, D. T. (2025, February 21). Supporting teacher wellbeing: Addressing the broader systemic issues. EdCan Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/supporting-teacher-wellbeing-addressing-the-broader-systemic-issues/
Sonnentag, S., & Fritz, C. (2007). The Recovery Experience Questionnaire: Development and validation of a measure for assessing recuperation and unwinding from work. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 12(3), 204–221. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-8998.12.3.204
Sweeny, R. W. (2023). Dreams of collective joyful resistance. Studies in Art Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/00393541.2023.2237852
Varol, Y. Z., Weiher, G. M., Wendsche, J., & Lohmann-Haislah, A. (2021). Difficulties detaching psychologically from work among German teachers: Prevalence, risk factors and health outcomes within a cross-sectional and national representative employee survey. BMC Public Health, 21, Article 2046. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-12118-4
Virtanen, A., De Bloom, J., & Kinnunen, U. (2020). Relationships between recovery experiences and well-being among younger and older teachers. International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 93, 213–227. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-019-01475-8
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