Stress Caused By School

School causes a lot of stress. First, it’s a place where you have a certain time to do everything. Time to walk, time to stand, time to sit, eat, time to arrive, time to go home, study, and even certain times when one can go to the bathroom. There is no way this will not cause stress. 

Spending too much time doing homework can prevent people from meeting other physical and social needs.  Some causes of homework stress are: examinations, deadlines, returning to study, and many more. Students must find a way to balance the demands of a family with studying, and parents or problems at home. 

45% of students admit to being stressed in school almost every day. 61% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 feel stress over producing satisfactory grades. 50% of middle school students reported feeling stressed over academics all the time, and 75% of high school students felt the same.

The U.S. ranks first as the country with the most stressed students. College students feel stress as well, with 45% saying they felt that way at a higher-than-average rate.

Most students tend to say that friends are their favorite part of school, but for some it can be a cause of stress. Some examples are concerns about not having enough friends, not being in the same classes as friends, not being able to keep up with friends in one particular area or another, impersonal problems, and pressure from friends. Having to deal with these issues causes anxiety in secure students. 

Bullying, overscheduling extracurricular activities, lack of family time, and the list goes on and on. Too much noise, poor diets, anxiety to take quizzes and tests, lots of homework, and work that is too hard or too easy, among many other concepts affect a student’s stress, anxiety, and mental health. 

Ways to reduce student stress are to eat well, get enough sleep, be physically active, take time to relax, work, and study.

Teachers can work together as a team to help reduce and avoid piling on too much homework on the same nights. They can also not schedule tests on the same day. Activities like moving around the room, working at “stations,” and taking stretching breaks benefit students. Studies show music helps people relax and focus. 

How do we find the balance between working towards being mentally strong, but also not increasing anxiety and stress? Knowing what each student needs and how each operates best is the first step, but mostly we need to simply be aware of each other and our needs.

Together, we can find a way to help students out.