I'd recommend purusing this brief piece by Varsity Tutors' Dr. Anubodh “Sunny” Varshney regarding the benefits and drawbacks of taking a gap year before medical school. I should note that Dr. Varshney does not mention a gap year's financial drawbacks, which can be significant.
I took an extra year (although it was during medical school, part of HMS's 5-year plan) that grounded me and made me a more competitive emergency medicine applicant. If feasible, it's a great opportunity.
