Stress in Teens

HAILEY MEDLOCK

MCKENNA DRAMMEH

STAFF WRITERS

According to the National Center for Educational Progress, high school students who start their school days later are less stressed than students who start their school days earlier.

US teens have recently been proven to be more stressed out than adults in the years to come, and their grades are decreasing, showing the academic pressure students are under. According to the American Psychological Association “School is one of the biggest sources of stress for teenagers.” This means that for 180 days a year, students are at risk of a decrease in grade point average due to stress. Lack of sleep will also contribute to the increase of stress in teens.

According to the American Psychological Association, “Sleep is so crucial that even slight sleep deprivation can affect memory, judgment, and mood.” It is proven that teens need a healthy amount of sleep to accomplish more in school and throughout the day.

Moanalua High School Counselor Donna Yamamoto says, “Students will come in feeling anxious and overwhelmed because the courses are more difficult than they thought or they may just not be placed in the proper class.” She want to explain to students that AP classes are not for everyone. Some students do not have strengths in writing and reading and would do better in a regular or honors class. Many students don’t realize or do not take advantage of the fact that the counselor can help with organization of classes. As students get older stress becomes more prevalent, with responsibilities like applying for colleges and maintaining good grades.

Yamamoto emphasizes talking with anyone to understand that stress and feeling overwhelmed is very common, and urges students to ask themselves, “Is this too much, am I overwhelmed?” She also wants to teach students some tricks for relieving stress. She says, “different ways to relieve stress are to, participate in physical activity, obtaining enough sleep every night or talking to somebody like a parent or adult you trust.” Overall, It is proven that it is hard to do the best when a student is not motivated, so taking classes you enjoy and can handle is key. Stress is very common in highschool students and is not going to go away anytime soon, but there are things that can help relieve this overbearing stress.