text: Generic_School students should not have to regularly participate in extracurricular activities because rather than giving students time to relax, it depletes their energy. Generic_School students are tired as it is. To understand how fatigued they are, allow me to use an example of someone who is exhausted without the addition of extracurricular activities to their schedule: me. I wake up at 5:50, board my school bus at 6:30, attend school from 7:30 to 2:15, get home at 3:00, and do homework for four hours before eating dinner and going to sleep. Add three hours to the mix and I am going to bed at 11:00, giving me only six hours to sleep. Not seven, not eight, not nine, and certainly not ten. Following a routine where there is only time for six hours of sleep decreases concentration, slows thinking, damages memory, and can even stunt growth during puberty. Generic_School students cannot simply adapt to the new conditions. No middle school student can. That is why Generic_School students should not have to chronically attend extracurricular activities because it hurts students more than it helps them.