Graphic by Brian Hwu

Staff writer

There is no denying teenagers in today’s society are under constant pressure to be better, push harder and succeed quicker. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there has been a 26 percent rise in college attendance from 1997 to 2007, so it is easy to see why school has turned into one of the most competitive aspects of any teenager’s life.

Students often feel constant pressure to succeed and get ahead while attaining not only perfect grades but also a perfect social life. Since many colleges base their entire admissions process off of a list of student activities instead of personally getting to know the applicants, students are forced to join clubs they aren’t interested in, take courses they hate, and jam pack their schedule in order to stand out and impress schools.

Nowadays, the pressure can start as early as kindergarten. Competing on a youth soccer team turns into a competitive sport. The fun of learning new material turns into a way to excel and get ahead in school. Facebook goes from a way to stay connected to a way to compare oneself with thousands of friends. It seems that our society is constantly telling us that our best isn’t good enough and that, in order to stand out, we must be the all-around perfect student.

However, many teenagers do not recognize the dangerous results that come with high levels of stress. The heavy workload and lack of down time students put on their shoulders can actually result in a worse school performance for a number of factors.

One major factor contributing to stress is adolescent’s sleep habits. According to sleepfoundation.org “teens need about 9.25 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8.5 hours is enough). Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found only 15 percent reported sleeping 8.5 hours on school nights.” Since most teenagers have obligations they must attend to early in the morning, it is nearly impossible to get the recommended amount of sleep per night.

This can affect students’ grades and safety. Fifteen percent of students admit to falling asleep at some point during the school year, according to Family Guide. This can also impact students when they are driving, preventing them from being alert. Drowsiness and fatigue causes about 100,000 traffic crashes every year, and people under 25 are involved in half of these car crashes.

Students need to realize what they view as getting ahead is actually making them fall behind. By constantly being on the go students are putting themselves in danger and are also in jeopardy of losing the quality of work because they are so focused on quantity instead.

According to teenhelp.com, 68 percent of teenagers stress derives from schoolwork. Students need to realize that high school isn’t just a time to swamp yourself with homework in order to get into college; it’s a time to find what you enjoy and want to potentially study in college and for the rest of your life. By having your schedule packed and pushing yourself to your breaking point, students are taking away what the high school experience is really about.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t try your best to succeed, but do you really want your only memories of high school to revolve around late night Starbucks runs and falling asleep in the library while trying to study for an upcoming test? Students need to have a healthy balance or school and fun and realize that making time to relax can actually improve their school performance.

It has been scientifically proven that stress has a direct correlation to school performance. Hyper vigilance and premature closure are the two main problems teens face when they are under stress. Hyper vigilance is when stress turns into panic. For example, over studying for an exam the night before. Premature closure is when one tries to avoid stress by quickly choosing a solution. An example of this is a student rushing through an exam.

This shows that even in the midst of a teenager’s hectic life, it is necessary to find time to relax and have down time. Without it, students put their school performance and health at risk.

So next time you feel the pressures of high school pressing down on your shoulders, don’t feel bad for pressing the snooze button on your alarm clock, it might actually get you ahead instead of behind.