Mental Health of High School Students
September 5, 2014
A vast number of high school students would attest to the notion that academic pressures are simply too much. Stress levels of teens have never been higher. According to studies conducted by the American Psychological Association, surveys illustrate that American teens are under more stress than the average adult. For a group made up of individuals who have not reached 18 years of age, this is a clear indication that we need to see reform in education now.
Excessive pressure, especially during the teenage years, can easily result in a plethora of health problems down the road, including certain chronic mental illnesses, cancer, heart disease and a shorter lifespan, according to the APA. Suicide attempt rates have also been found to be significantly higher in adolescents than young adults according to a study on depression by the Clinical Psychological Science journal.
However, the harmful effects don’t stop there. Often coupled with the overwhelming pressure students face is sleep deprivation, a truly destructive combination. High school students in the U.S. are in dire need of more sleep, with teens’ averaging 7.4 hours of sleep, as opposed to the recommended nine to 10 hours. When under-rested, teens (and all other human beings, for that matter) experience serious cutbacks in cognitive functions, hindering them from reaching their full academic potential.
One solution for allowing students to achieve at least the physiological minimum of rest is to have school times start later. In a study conducted by the University of Minnesota on high school students of three different states, schools shifted their start times to 8:55 a.m. Whether it was a delay of twenty minutes or an hour and a half, school administrators found many common, positive results. Some included significant declines in tardiness, substance abuse, symptoms of depression, consumption of caffeinated drinks and even a 70 percent drop in teens’ auto crashes. With teens more attentive and active in school, they can get the most out of their education.
However, this alone would not necessarily solve the issue at hand. There needs to be a complementary component, and that is reducing the massive workload many students receive on a daily basis. According to research by the Journal of Experimental Education, 56 percent of high school students involved in the study claimed that homework is the primary stressor in their academic careers. On average, students receive an unreasonable three to five hours of schoolwork every night, and for students in advanced classes, the hours are much greater.
As homework piles up, students are left with little to no time for leisure and extracurricular activities, which are essential for college admissions. The immense workload is damaging students in multiple aspects, and need to be dealt with. After all, it is not homework that leads to one’s academic success, but rather the ability to learn and successfully apply knowledge. This comes from mental well-being, something only a handful of students can maintain.
The heads of education may be trying to push America’s students to achieve higher academically, but they cannot expect students to excel without first providing a proper, healthy education system. School has unjustly become an oppressive factor in teens’ lives, and it is leaving them tired and suffering. Unless something is done to aid students’ mental health, the U.S. will not be seeing academic improvements anytime soon.
