School is overwhelming. It is very rare to hear a person say, “I’m not tired.” The moment we rise from our sleep, many thoughts begin to race through our minds.The thoughts aren’t happy thoughts, they’re worried thoughts about the upcoming essays and tests.
The words test, quiz, midyear, final, essay, research paper, homework, AP, etc. lingers in the mind of a high schooler. There is no end to these clingy words. The constant battle between stress and school is interminable. The life of a high schooler is like a cycle; wake up, eat breakfast, spend six hours in school, two hours in sports/activities, half an hour/an hour to shower, an hour to eat dinner, and the rest of the time to do homework/study. Before you know it, the day is gone and it is time to sleep. In just six hours, the alarm goes off and the cycle repeats. As the amount of work increases and the amount of sleep decreases, future health problems will come meet you halfway. We all know about the cliche statement, “Hard work pays off.” But, what if it doesn’t?
According to a 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), ‘“Colleges are seeing a generation of students who appear to be manifesting increased signs of depression, anxiety, perfectionism and stress.”’ Many desire to achieve the 4.0 GPA by losing multiple nights of sleep studying and doing homework. Little do you know, sleep deprivation can increase stroke risk, lead to obesity, up diabetes risk, fuel memory loss, damage bones, increase cancer risk, and kill you. People who lack sleep seem to die earlier and younger according to TIME. Men who sleep for less than six hours of sleep are four times more likely to die over a 14-year period. The workload can also cause stress. In the long run, stress can cause memory problems, poor judgement, constant worrying, anxious thoughts, moodiness, short temper, sense of loneliness, depression, negative thoughts, and the list goes on. Stress
College and high school students are spending a quarter to a third of their life constantly worrying about their future and their career. Many are prone to look far beyond their limits. We need to live in the present. We should all learn to take a deep breath and give a little more love to our body.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/scary-sleep-deprivation-effects_n_2807026.html
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_signs.htm
Lisa, I completely agree with you that high school students are overstressed. Ironically enough, I almost wrote my own journal about the exact same thing. I liked your short opening sentence to start off by simply stating your argument. I really like how you mention that most of our daily lives are just repetitive cycles because it's very true and relatable. Your use of the rhetorical question was a nice transition into the next set of ideas. Including outside information on the effects that stress can have on humans was nice and I think it would be interesting to learn more about that. I do think that avoiding the back slashes could have made the writing flow a little better and there are also a few typos here, so be sure to read over your work extra carefully. Also try incorporating shorter quotes rather than just including the whole thing with "according to." Other than that I thought it was very good and the conclusion worked well to round off your ideas. I think it would do a lot of good if more people would just relax and not overstretch themselves.
ReplyDeleteLisa, first of all, this post is very well written. This might be your strongest post all year. You choose a great topic, you present it in an articulate and clear manner, and you substantiate your claims. Great. I, of course, have some questions, though.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the issue that you are addressing? I sense that you are conflating two different societal phenomena. Is the issue school itself, with the homework, exams, and boring routine, that you are challenging? Or, is it the culture of pressure to earn entrance into college and get a good job that you question? In my mind, these are two separate issues. I think the social and academic pressure we put on students these days is a more interesting issue. Of course, I don't look at school with the same perspective. In my mind, school is just training for your adult lives - which will be filled by more boring routine, sleepless nights, and work. However, the pressure put on kids - not necessarily by teachers - to overachieve is a different issue. I am not sure where that comes from. I do agree, though, that it is probably not healthy.