Psychologist Robert Lahey says “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.” A study by the American Psychological Association found that nearly half of all teens (45%) said they were stressed by school pressures. 80% of students say they experience daily stress and 90% of it is from schoolwork, the other 10 is from social issues and other non school related issues, 41.6% of college students have anxiety caused by school work. 24.5% of college students seeing a psychiatrist have been reported being on psychotropic medication. The stress is eating the modern students alive. As many as 30% of student have reported that stress has affected their academic performance. Stress is the biggest problem for teenagers when dealing with school. It is causing them to be physically sick with symptoms such as headaches, stomachaches, nausea, and vomiting as well as developing Thyroid disease and diabetes. The pressure on students is the highest it’s ever been and the stakes are higher than ever. Students have the pressure of college, standardized tests, grades, having a social life, sports, and maintaining 8 hours of sleep a night. High Schoolers are expected to follow unrealistic expectations of society to make them acceptable such as fashion, technology and likes as dislikes that add onto student stress. Some causes of student stress are leaving schoolwork until the last minute, unorganization, and not being prepared. 5 times as many college and high school students are dealing with anxiety and pressure than those studied in The Great Depression Era.
So how do we deal with the student stress levels individually and as a society. Well as a society, the National Sleep Foundation has proven that school should start between 8:00 and 8:30 a.m. not the early 7:30 am start we are used to, that time of morning does not give students time to do their after school activities and school work as well as getting a full 8 hours of sleep. Starting school later will also improve the likelihood of tardiness, better grades, reduced stress, and less likelihood to experience depression. Individually, students should learn time management, organization, prioritize, and live a healthy life. Stress can be reduced through minor changes both individually and socially.