Good quality sleep can help students to concentrate better and to remember things.
But according to the Centers for Disease Control, a large majority of students are getting two hours fewer than the recommended amount, and researchers have shown that the more homework and assignments that kids get, the fewer hours they sleep.

6th grade administrator Mrs. Megan Gallant says she’s “not sure the lack of sleep is due to homework. There’s lots of other things that distract students. Social media, Netflix, other activities engaged outside of the school day.”
Dr. Stuart Slavin, a pediatrician and professor at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, reports he’s noticed something about the impact of stress from school demands.

After seeing alarming rates of anxiety and depression in his medical students, Slavin conducted tests with Irvington High School in Fremont, California, and he was shocked by the results. Dr. Slavin surveyed 2,100 students using two standard measurements. One, the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, and two, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results of the tests were mind blowing.

54 percent of students showed moderate to severe symptoms of depression, and 80 percent showed moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety.

“This is so far beyond what you would typically see in an adolescent population” Dr, Slavin told the school’s faculty. Worse, these results, according to the article, were most likely an underestimation. Some of the Irvington students had missed the survey while taking Advanced Placement Exams.

Added to a seven-hour school day, kids then sit through hours on top of hours completing homework assignments, and studying for tests and quizzes. The two weekend days students have are also filled with assignments. All this school work is leaving less time for hanging out with friends, playing sports, and social time in general.
These school demands and work are also leaving less time for sleep.

Educators and parents are trying to help children by implementing more school work and assignments, but they’re forgetting about the need for sleep. Sleep plays a big roll in helping students learn.

This isn’t a problem only occurring in teenagers. More and more stress and anxiety issues have been shown in the elementary age group. Dr. Lawrence Rosen, a New Jersey pediatrician “I’m talking about 5, 6, and 7 year olds who are coming in with these conditions. We never used to see that,”.

Research shows that academic stress can cause students to do worse in school, negatively impacting their future.
Mrs. Gallant, the 6th grade administrator said, “If that’s the case, it’s completely opposite of what educators are trying to do. This year in particular, teachers and the school community are trying to pay attention to school stress on top of anxiety caused by COVID.”

What sets Irvington apart from other school is that the educators and parents have decided to make a change. The teachers are re-examining their homework demands. The district outlined a limit of no more than 10-20 minutes per class, per night and none on weekends.

School need to pickup on the lessons Irvington learned. We need to work together. Parents, educators, and students can make small but important changes by placing homework time limits, and weekend and holiday homework bans.
More people need to be aware of these problems caused by school demands, and action needs to be taken.