Emma Borowiak

Mrs. Walroth
ARC
10 January 2015
Stressful Students
Teens throughout the United States are experiencing high levels of stress which are negatively
impacting their lives. School, family and friends, work, and the future are among these stressors.
Parents can be sometimes add to the stress, You might also be pressured by your parents or
friends to do things. My parents and I get into fights about my schoolwork. They always seem to
be on my back about something. They dont realize that sometimes I like to be alone (Baum
98). Stress can lead to many negative side effects to the body. According to the article Teens
feeling stressed, and many not managing it well published in USA Today, findings on more
than 1,000 teens suggest that unhealthy behaviors associated with stress may start early and
continue through adulthood (Jayson). 40% of teens report feeling irritable or angry; 36%
nervous or anxious. A third say stress makes them feel overwhelmed, depressed or sad (Jayson).
Because stress is a part of life, learning how to manage stress is important. Some questions to
help understand stress and students include how often do you feel stress at school, rank stressors,
how many hours of sleep do you get each night, how many hours of homework are performed
each week, and how many tests are given each week. These questions help understand the
different stress factors in students and how these can be managed.
One factor that contributes to stress for students is school. Almost 40 percent of parents say
their high schooler is experiencing a lot of stress from school (Neighmond). The main stressor
is not regarding anything other than academics. The stress of completing each grade, the pressure

to perform to the best of their abilities, and the future are all among the things that add to the
stress of school. In the survey conducted, a majority of students spend over 5 hours a night on
homework, making this their leading stress. Parents also agree with this statement. 24% of say
the amount of homework is an issue for their child (Neighmond).
Stress can lead to depression and anxiety. The pressure from school can lead to much more
dramatic effects on the body. According to the survey conducted, school is the number one
stressor for students. Students go to school for eight hours a day, five days a week, and nine
months a year. School is supposed to be a learning experience and help guide students to their
future, but it seems to be causing damage. Students not only spend eight hours a day at school,
but they also spend countless hours at home working on homework. When students are
experiencing such high amounts of stress, their body can only handle so much. This will lead to
much worse conditions like depression and anxiety. 29% of high school students in grades 9-12
reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or longer during the past year
(Jayson). Feeling sad and hopeless can cause suicidal thoughts and self harm. It so happens that
stress is the leading cause of suicide in young teens (Jayson).
In conclusion, stress can be very harmful. Students experience different amounts of stress each
day. School is the number one stressor for students and they are spending a majority of their day
at school. Beginning with sitting in the classroom and ending with homework, students always
have this pressure. Something needs to be done for students and the endless pressure. It's
incredibly important to have the downtime, and it makes sense to have a dramatic shift in the
summer. They sleep more in the summer, and that's going to enormously increase their ability to
think positively" (Jayson). If students are required to sit in school for countless hours each,

think N.E.W.S. Nutrition, exercise, water, and sleep all need to be balanced and emphasized for
better health. Sleep is a big part of stress, Sleep deprivation is one of the leading causes of
stress; on the other hand, stress is one of the leading causes of insomnia (Readers Digest 27).
Students need to be aware of the health effects of stress and how to manage these situations.
Students tend to reach for junk food in times of stress, but healthy eating habits will lead to a
more healthy lifestyle. Exercise is important to relieve stress, water is essential for life, and
proper sleep is needed in order to function properly each day and reduce stress. All of these four
things, in balance, can lead to a healthier, less stressful lifestyle.

Rank your stressors.

Total

Score

School

77.78%
7

0.00%
0

22.22%
2

2.56

Family/friends

11.11%
1

33.33%
3

55.56%
5

1.56

Future planning

11.11%
1

66.67%
6

22.22%
2

1.89

Q3

On average, how many hours do you sleep

each night?
Answer Choices

Responses

12 or more

0.00%
0

9-11

11.11%
1

5-8

66.67%
6

less than 5

22.22%
2

0.00%
0

Total

Q4

Works Cited
Jayson, Sharon. "Teens Feeling Stressed, and Many Not Managing It Well." USA Today.
Gannett
11 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2015.
Neighmond, Patti. School Stress Takes a Toll on Health, Teens and Parents Say. NPR. NPR, 2
Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2015.
Desetta, Al. Pressure: True Stories by Teens About Stress. Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing
Inc. 2012. Print.
Readers Digest. New York: Montreal, 1998. Print.

Jayson, Sharon. "Teens Feeling Stressed, and Many Not Managing It Well." USA Today.
11 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Jan. 2015.
This article explains that stress continues to be a major issue for teens. Many teens are
not managing their stress well. Stress begins in the teen years and teens are not taught
how to manage their stress so these habits carry into their adulthood. High levels of stress
are leading to worse conditions.

This article offers useful information regarding stress and teens. It also emphasizes the
risks that teens can experience when high levels of stress continue. Other important
information regarding statistics and behaviors that are associated with stress are
expressed in this article.

A lot of information in this article will be helpful regarding students and stress.
Particularly the information about stress-related behaviors and the information about the
effects in different aspects of life will be helpful. This article also expresses that school is
the number one stressor for students.

Neighmond, Patti. School Stress Takes a Toll on Health, Teens and Parents Say. NPR. NPR, 2
Dec. 2013. Web. 09 Jan. 2015.

This article explains stress and how students handle their stress. School is the number one
thing that causes stress for students. Homework, bad grades, and the future of college are

among other causes of stress for students. The key to managing life for students is
balance. Balancing life will lead much less stress.

This article offers useful information and statistics that show how stress really impacts
students. A majority of students experience stress because of school. This article also
offers information on learning to live a more balanced lifestyle in order to live a less
stressful life.

Statistics in this article will be particularly helpful. These will help emphasize the issue of
stress and how many students are actually feeling the same way towards school. Also,
this article helps does a good job expressing the concern for chronic stress on students.
Desetta, Al. Pressure: True Stories by Teens About Stress. Minneapolis: Free Spirit
Publishing Inc. 2012. Print.
This book explains the different hardships that teens experienced. They are all true short
stories that offer what it feels like to be in the place of a teen going through high school.
School is a huge part of their stress but there are also other things that play a role with it.
Many different teens share their story about themselves and what they did to overcome it.

This book is a useful source because it explains real life events that take place daily. It
shows that there are more depressed or suicidal teens than you would think. It offers the
different types of stressors the students have and how to cope with them.

The book goes along with the idea of stress in high school students. I can use the
information from the book to offer quotes and ideas for the paper. The fact that there are
real life examples, prove that my concept is true.
Readers Digest. New York: Montreal, 1998. Print.

This book of articles gives different pieces of advice on the different ways to handle
stress. It explains the importance of balancing out your life. There are tips given on ways
you can deal and handle stress.
This source offers useful information that can be used for recommendations on what you
can do to cope with the feelings of being stressed. Such as, doing yoga relaxes your body
and mind so that you can feel completely relaxed. It is important for teens to take time
out of their busy schedules to actually relax.

The book can be used in the research because it gives statistics and comments on certain
aspects of stress. It can be used for the part of the project where there is a need for
recommendations of what you should do for the topic. This will help with those things
that you can do differently.