The nail plate consists of dead epithelial cells, or, simply put, the skin, which turn into nail plates. Since these are keratinized cells, they do not need to “breathe”. Accordingly, no matter how often you apply the coating to the nail plate, this will not affect its structure in any way. Therefore, a break from gel polish is not needed for nails.
What causes issues is how the gel coating is removed. Violation of nail technology, specifically the technology of removal of materials, can really adversely affect the condition of the nails. They can become thin and brittle and will require recovery. If your nail tech does everything correctly, then the gel polish coating will not ruin the nails, but, on the contrary, will protect them from external influences. There is also the opinion that the the nail plate is completely filed down before gel polish application which makes the plate very thin. Only the surface of old material is supposed to be filed down if the technology is followed correctly by your nail technician and the actual nail plate remains untouched.
So, to summarize: there is no need to be afraid of gel polish – it is absolutely safe for your nails. The main thing is to do a manicure clearly in compliance with the technology, and for this you should choose only high-quality gel polish and trust your hands only to an experienced nail specialist.