Learn Hardcore French: Elle protège sa santé mentale en prenant une bonne pause loin du bruit et de la pollution. - She protects her mental health by taking a good break far from noise and pollution.

In French, possessive adjectives (mon / ma / mes, ton / ta / tes, son / sa / ses) agree with the gender and number of the noun that follows, not with the owner.

santé is a feminine noun: la santé
Therefore we must use sa (feminine singular) → sa santé
son would be used before a masculine singular noun: son livre (his/her book)

Also, sa can mean her, his, or its depending on context. Here we know it’s her mental health because the subject is Elle.

What does protège mean exactly, and why isn’t it reflexive like se protéger?

Protège is the 3rd person singular of the verb protéger: elle protège = she protects.

You could see both:

Elle protège sa santé mentale = She protects her mental health.
– The direct object is sa santé mentale.
Elle se protège = She protects herself.
– Here, se is a reflexive pronoun, and you don’t specify what part/aspect of herself.

Using Elle protège sa santé mentale is more precise: it tells you exactly what she is protecting.

What is the function of en in en prenant une bonne pause?

Here en + present participle (en prenant) forms what’s called the gérondif (gerund). It indicates how, when, or under what circumstances the action of the main verb happens.

Elle protège sa santé mentale en prenant une bonne pause…
= She protects her mental health by taking a good break…

So en prenant is best translated here as by taking.
It expresses the means or method: She protects her mental health by doing X.

Why is it prenant and not something like prenne or pris?

Prenant is the present participle of prendre.

Formation of the present participle:

Take the nous form of the present tense: nous prenons
Remove -ons → pren-
Add -ant → prenant

Compare:

nous parlons → parlant
nous finissons → finissant

Prenn- (subjunctive) and pris (past participle) are different forms used in other structures:

qu’elle prenne (that she take) → subjunctive
elle a pris (she took / has taken) → past participle

Why do we say une bonne pause and not just une pause?

You could say simply une pause, but une bonne pause adds nuance:

une pause = a break
une bonne pause = a proper / decent / really good break (long enough or satisfying)

Also note the position:

bonne comes before the noun because it’s an adjective of subjective evaluation (good/bad, beautiful/ugly, big/small, etc.).
→ une bonne pause, une grande maison, un beau film

Why is it loin du bruit but de la pollution?

This is due to gender and the contraction rules with de + definite article:

bruit is masculine: le bruit
→ de + le = du → loin du bruit (far from the noise)
pollution is feminine: la pollution
→ de + la = de la (no contraction) → de la pollution

So:

loin du bruit = far from the noise
loin de la pollution = far from the pollution

Is there any difference between prendre une pause and faire une pause?

Both are commonly used and often interchangeable, but there can be a slight nuance:

faire une pause is more frequent overall and very idiomatic for take a break.
prendre une pause is also understood and used, especially in some regions or contexts, but can sound a bit more influenced by English in some varieties.

In this sentence, en prenant une bonne pause is perfectly understandable and natural. You could also say:

en faisant une bonne pause – by taking a good break

Both work in this context.

Why is it loin du bruit et de la pollution and not loin du bruit et de la pollution-là or something to mark “that noise/pollution”?

In French, you don’t usually add -là to abstract, general things like le bruit and la pollution unless you truly mean that specific noise/pollution over there.

loin du bruit et de la pollution = far from noise and pollution in general (city noise, air pollution, etc.)
ce bruit-là / cette pollution-là would point to something very specific and already identified in context.

Since the sentence talks about protecting mental health in a general, habitual way, the generic du bruit et de la pollution is more natural.

Would it be correct to say Elle protège sa santé mentale en faisant une bonne pause loin du bruit et loin de la pollution? Is repeating loin de okay?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

Elle protège sa santé mentale en faisant une bonne pause loin du bruit et loin de la pollution.

You can:

Use loin de once + list:
loin du bruit et de la pollution (more compact)
Repeat loin de for emphasis or clarity:
loin du bruit et loin de la pollution (more rhythmic, slightly more emphatic)

Both sound natural; the original is just more concise.

Why is it Elle protège sa santé mentale and not Elle garde sa santé mentale?

In French, protéger is the natural verb for protect in this context:

protéger sa santé mentale = to protect one’s mental health (to take actions to preserve it, shield it from harm).

garder usually means to keep, to hold on to, to look after:

garder un secret = to keep a secret
garder les enfants = to look after the children
garder la ligne = to stay slim / keep one’s figure

Saying garder sa santé mentale is not idiomatic and would sound odd. You really want protéger when talking about taking care of mental or physical health in this way.