Mental Health Days: Harmful or Helpful?

Abraham Ruiz et al.
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:50:00 PDT

Mental Health Days (MHD) have been a topic of debate among students, while some want to save them for the last minute, some of them use them in abundance. However, the problem arises when we analyze how students are actually using their MHD. We have interviewed numerous students, and the results are very divided. A good number of students have used their Mental Health Days as a break for their busy academic lives, in which they take the chance to rest and recuperate. Others have used Mental Health Days as a time to skip class without repercussion, as time they need to catch up or get ahead in their studies, which in turn worsens their mental health. These are the two sides of an untold story. Mental Health Days have been instituted into the rule book because they recognized their students needed a break from their academic activities, a break that would help their mental health in specially stressful weeks. The facts show that a part of the student body uses MHD’s to do the homework that they would’ve had to do after school, simply because they believe that a single afternoon after class is not enough time to finish their assignments. Now, what does this say about the amount of homework the average student has? About mental health education being provided by the same school that allows Mental Health Days?