Is it Worth your Well-being?

Reevaluate your life and realize you need to stop sacrificing your health for your grades

Students nowadays seem to put their grades first and health second. The pressure to get good grades is very high, especially in the Northern Virginia area. With the stress of getting good grades hanging over students’ heads some stop eating, overeat, go into depression, lose sleep or develop different physical and mental disorders.

The amount of work that students have to do contributes to the pressure. According to Education Week, high school students get assigned an average of 3.5 hours of homework a night while middle school and elementary school students get less than 3.5 hours a week. Going from middle school to high school, the homework load is seven times bigger than before. That is a big leap of insanity.

Students are expected to adjust to it pretty quickly. Students are told that colleges are expecting good grades, extracurricular activities and good health. Sometimes to study properly and get all of the homework done, students have to stay up late, skip extracurricular activities or skip meals. Doing this can cause sleeping disorders, eating disorders, or depression. Some students can only see good grades and not how physically unfit they are.

I myself and many other students have become sleep deprived because we are not getting our nine to ten hours of sleep that is suggested by Kidshealth.org. I have also starved myself because I have been too stressed to eat along with some other students I have know who have skipped out on meals because they were too busy to stop and eat something. Some may overeat because when they’re stressed, they turn to food and skip out on their extracurriculars. These bad eating habits can lead to eating disorders. I have skipped out on my extracurriculars because I need that extra two hours to be able to finish all of my homework. Sometimes the stress gets to students and the development of anxiety disorders occur. I have known students who have developed this disorder and they live their lives in fear. There are many ways good grades affect students’ health.

Even though we all see school in some form as stress, we can help lower it easily. It is no secret that high school students like to procrastinate. I will admit I have a tendency to do it on most nights. If students were to try to procrastinate less, they could get their homework done faster and it would not be hanging over their head while they are trying to have fun instead of doing their work.

Students could also plan a study schedule. Set a timer for 30 minutes and work until it goes off and then treat yourself to a five minute break. Once you have done this a few times in a row, take a fifteen minute break. Do this until you are finished with your homework. I have tried this and I find it keeps me on track and I am able to focus better knowing that I will get a planned break.

Students could also prioritize their homework. Do your homework on the day it’s assigned, not the night before. This helps to stay on top of when things are due. Doing it the night before can also cause you to stress less. Sometimes homework assignments can take longer than you anticipated. Instead of realizing that the night before it’s due, you could split it up so you know you can get it done without having to stay up late.

 School is stressful and tiring but we have to be nice to ourselves. Sometimes you just have to remember to stop, think, and breathe. Everyone has to go through this.