Key Takeaways
- Taking time for yourself means intentionally setting aside moments for rest, reflection, or activities that recharge the mind and body, apart from work and caregiving demands.
- Regular personal time is associated with lower stress, improved mood, and better overall mental health.
- Self-care does not require large blocks of time; short, consistent moments can offer real psychological benefits.
Downtime can alleviate stress that interferes with sleep and supports deeper, more restorative rest. - For people balancing demanding responsibilities, structured self-care can complement professional mental health support.
For many working professionals, “me time” can feel hard to come by. Trying to find it amid all the different roles and responsibilities—parent, employee, caregiver, partner—can feel selfish, as though rest must be earned before it can be claimed. But health and mental health experts generally agree that carving out time for yourself is not only good for you personally but also can benefit the people you interact with each day, from coworkers to family members.
What Does Taking Time for Yourself Really Mean?
Taking time for yourself means intentionally stepping back from obligations to rest, reflect, or do something that restores your energy, rather than waiting for free time to appear on its own. For many people, that pause never comes unless it’s planned.
Whether it looks like a quiet walk, an unhurried cup of coffee, or simply taking time to yourself with no agenda at all, the intent behind it matters as much as the activity itself. The benefits of slowing down, taking a break, and reducing stress are well documented. Here are some of the important findings.
Better Sleep
Psychological stress takes a toll on sleep, making it harder to fall or stay asleep, and people who feel stressed tend to spend less time in the deep sleep and REM sleep stages that can help the body feel refreshed and process emotions.1 According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, more than a third of adults report daytime sleepiness severe enough to disrupt work, driving, or social functioning at least a few days a month.
Scheduling downtime can help reduce the stress that may be interfering with your sleep. When you take time for yourself, you give your body a chance to recover from the day’s demands and settle into the restorative sleep it needs.
Improved Mood and Less Resentment
If you’re doing for others without taking time for yourself, you can start to feel resentful toward family members, colleagues, and even friends. Making time to do something you enjoy helps counter that.
In the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Monitor on Psychology, psychologist Laura Boxley noted that self-care may seem “frivolous or selfish” in stressful times but skipping it can undercut a person’s ability to handle what’s ahead and show up for others.2 When you take time for yourself, you can return to your responsibilities with more patience and greater capacity.
Greater Focus and Creativity
Taking a break and shutting off multitasking mode can improve your concentration. With time to think and focus, you can step back, reassess how you want to spend your time, and enrich your life by engaging in a new hobby or by spending more time doing something you already love.
Why Taking Time for Yourself Matters for Mental Health
Taking time for yourself does more than boost productivity. It plays a meaningful role in mental wellness. Research shows that self-care partially mediates the relationship between stress and well-being, meaning that people who actively practice self-care tend to experience less of the negative effect stress can have on their psychological health.3
The link between taking time for yourself, mental health, and overall well-being is clear: Using personal time deliberately to protect emotional health, not just to rest the body, is what makes it effective. Even brief, consistent moments of personal time can offer real psychological benefits.
Physical activity is one well-supported way to spend that time. The APA reports that a regular exercise routine can decrease the effects of stress on the body and improve mental health and mood.4
Mindfulness practices offer another accessible option. A large, randomized study found that even short, self-administered mindfulness exercises reduced self-reported stress.5 For people balancing demanding responsibilities, structured self-care can also be an important complement to professional mental health support.
This connection between self-care and mental health is central to the work of clinical mental health counselors, who help clients build sustainable habits that support well-being.
How to Make Time for Yourself
Finding time for yourself doesn’t require large blocks of free time. Here are a few practical strategies that can help.
- Schedule it: Treat personal time like any other appointment. Blocking off even 10 or 15 minutes on a calendar increases the likelihood that you will follow through, and protecting that slot keeps it from being absorbed by other demands.
- Start small: Self-care does not have to involve a long routine. A short walk, a few minutes of deep breathing, or simply sitting in silence can be enough to reset. Consistency matters more than duration.
- Set boundaries: Learning to say “no” and limiting after-hours work creates space for personal time. Boundaries around notifications, screens, and commitments help protect the downtime you schedule.
- Use what you already do: Linking a small self-care action to an existing routine—for example, stretching while coffee brews or fitting in a brief breathing exercise after lunch—makes personal time easier to build in.
Why Study Mental Health Counseling?
Clinical mental health counselors help people build the kinds of sustainable, restorative habits that can guide them toward better sleep, steadier moods, and a stronger sense of well-being. If you’re interested in topics like the connection between self-care and mental health, Walden University’s online CACREP-accredited MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program offers a way to explore them further.
The program is built around theories of counseling and psychotherapy, evidence-based interventions, and the development of a personal theoretical orientation. There is a General Program and multiple specializations—including Addiction Counseling and Trauma and Crisis Counseling—which allows you to tailor your degree to your interests. The clinical mental health counseling program is designed to academically prepare you to pursue licensure.
If you are already balancing work, family, and other responsibilities, the online coursework gives you the flexibility to study on your schedule. You’ll also find comprehensive support services you can use throughout your counseling master’s program.
Request more information, or chat with a Walden Enrollment Specialist who can help you explore your options, from program details to enrollment timelines. Take time for yourself to consider whether a degree in clinical mental health counseling is the right next step for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to take time for yourself?
Taking time for yourself means intentionally setting aside moments for rest, reflection, or activities that recharge the mind and body, separate from work and caregiving responsibilities.
How much time is needed for self-care to be effective?
Self-care does not require large blocks of time. Short, consistent moments of personal time can offer real psychological benefits, and consistency tends to matter more than duration.
Can taking time for yourself improve sleep?
Yes. Scheduling downtime can reduce the stress that interferes with sleep, supporting deeper, more restorative rest, including the deep and REM sleep stages.
Is taking time for yourself selfish?
Experts emphasize that self-care is not selfish. Prioritizing personal time can improve well-being and support the ability to care for others.
How can someone with a busy schedule take time for self-care?
Strategies include scheduling personal time like an appointment, starting small, setting boundaries, and linking small self-care actions to existing routines.
1Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4266573/
2Source: www.apa.org/news/apa/2020/psychologists-self-care
3Source: https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/11/12/e048469
4Source: www.apa.org/topics/exercise-fitness/stress?c=youdoyou
5Source: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2025-29391-013
Walden University is an HLC-accredited institution offering an MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling degree program online. Earn your degree in a convenient, flexible format that fits your busy life.
Walden University’s MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which is a requirement for licensure in many states. The MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program is designed to prepare graduates to qualify to sit for licensing exams and to meet the academic licensure requirements of many state counseling boards. Because no graduate program can guarantee licensure upon graduation, we encourage students to consult the appropriate agency to determine specific requirements. For more information about licensure, students should visit the National Board for Certified Counselors at www.nbcc.org/search/stateboarddirectory or the American Association of State Counseling Boards at www.aascb.org, and contact the appropriate licensing body. International students are encouraged to identify and contact their appropriate licensing body. Learn more about professional licensure.
Walden University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (www.hlcommission.org), an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
