School leads to stress, depression, sleep deprivation and suicide - Anti-Schooling Series Part 5

The link between school and stress, depression, sleep deprivation and suicide

In this article I will attempt to show school causes stress, depression, sleep deprivation and suicide. I will focus on bullying and general academic pressure in a future article. A previous article discussed the negative impacts of stress, depression, and sleep deprivation.

The study Seasonality of youth suicide and the academic calendar saw a large decrease in youth suicide during summer and the decline is not explained by weather, unemployment, or Seasonal Affective Disorder(SAD).

We document a large decrease in youth suicide in during summer. Adults from a slightly older age ranges exhibit no summer decrease in suicide. The summer decline in youth suicide is not explained by weather, unemployment, or SAD. The increase rate of youth suicide during non-summer months aligns with school calendar. That increase may be indicative of broader stress experienced by youth in school.

From Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?:

After uncovering alarming rates of anxiety and depression among his medical students, Dr. Slavin and his colleagues remade the program: implementing pass/fail grading in introductory classes, instituting a half-day off every other week, and creating small learning groups to strengthen connections among students. Over the course of six years, the students’ rates of depression and anxiety dropped considerably.

From The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders:

A few years ago, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Jeremy Hunter conducted a study of happiness and unhappiness in public school students in 6th through 12th grade.[7] Each of 828 participants, from 33 different schools in 12 different communities across the country, wore a special wristwatch for a week, programmed to provide a signal at random times between 7:30 am and 10:30 pm. Whenever the signal went off participants filled out a questionnaire indicating where they were, what they were doing, and how happy or unhappy they were at the moment.

The lowest levels of happiness by far (surprise, surprise) occurred when children were at school, and the highest levels occurred when they were out of school and conversing or playing with friends. Time spent with parents fell in the middle of the range. Average happiness increased on weekends, but then plummeted from late Sunday afternoon through the evening, in anticipation of the coming school week.

The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders also talks about how a person's level of self-determination and perceived control over their fate can effect their level of anxiety. This is a positve aspect of Democratic education which I will discuss in my alternative education article.

A study of Stress in America found:

Teens report that their stress level during the school year far exceeds what they believe to be healthy (5.8 vs. 3.9 on a 10-point scale) and tops adults’ average reported stress level in the past month (5.8 for teens vs. 5.1 for adults).
Eighty-three percent report that school is a somewhat or significant source of stress, and 10 percent of teens report receiving lowers grades than they are capable of because of stress.

A review of Academic Stress Literature states:

Academic problems have been reported to be the most common source of stress for students (Aldwin & Greenberger, 1987). Schafer (1996) observed that the most irritating daily hassles were usually school-related stressors such as constant pressure of studying, too little time, writing term papers, taking tests, future plans, and boring instructors. Stress associated with academic activi ties has been linked to various negative outcomes, such as poor health (Greenberg, 1981; Lesko & Summerfield, 1989), depression (Aldwin & Greenberger, 1987), and poor academic performance (Clark & Rieker, 1986; Linn & Zeppa, 1984). Lesko and Summerfield (1989) found a significant positive correlation between the incidence of illness and the number of exams and assignments. Similarly, Aldwin and Greenberger (1987) observed that perceived academic stress was related to anxiety and depressi on in college students.

School and sleep deprivation

Among teens, sleep deprivation an epidemic

Since the early 1990s, it’s been established that teens have a biologic tendency to go to sleep later — as much as two hours later — than their younger counterparts.
Yet when they enter their high school years, they find themselves at schools that typically start the day at a relatively early hour. So their time for sleep is compressed, and many are jolted out of bed before they are physically or mentally ready. In the process, they not only lose precious hours of rest, but their natural rhythm is disrupted, as they are being robbed of the dream-rich, rapid-eye-movement stage of sleep, some of the deepest, most productive sleep time, said pediatric sleep specialist Rafael Pelayo, MD, with the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic.
“When teens wake up earlier, it cuts off their dreams,” said Pelayo, a clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. “We’re not giving them a chance to dream.”

The artice About Student Sleep Deprivation states various positive impacts later school start times have had on students:

Besides a focus in extolling healthy life styles (including sleep hygiene), the main response in some schools is to consider later start times. Initial studies suggest positive outcomes for teens (but not elementary students) with respect to better achieve ment test scores and grades, fewer absences, less daytime sleepiness, tardiness, attention or concen tration difficulties, a reduction in teen car accidents (Barnes, Davis, Mancini, Ruffin, & Simpson, 2016; Edwards, 2012; Lahey, 2014; Richter, 2015). For example, schools in Wake County (CA) delaye d start time by one hour and reported an increase in standardized test scores by 2-3% (with the largest impact on students with below average test scores). They also had 25% fewer absences than those with earlier start times. Schools in Edina (MN) reported that a later start time was associat ed with students feeling less depressed, less sleepy, and more empowered to succeed. Attendance rates also rose. Rhode Island reported improved student alertness and mood and fewer car accidents.

The CDC found the following statistics related to student sleep deprivation(Sleep in Middle and High School Students):

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that children aged 6–12 years should regularly sleep 9–12 hours per 24 hours and teenagers aged 13–18 years should sleep 8–10 hours per 24 hours.
For middle school:
About 6 out of 10 (57.8%) did not get enough sleep on school nights
For high school:
About 7 out of 10 (72.7%) did not get enough sleep on school nights

From Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says:

Led by URMC clinical assistant professor in Psychiatry Jack Peltz, Ph.D., the study, recently published in Sleep Health, not only reinforces the theorized link between sleep and adolescent mental health, but is among the first to demonstrate that school start times may have a critical impact on adolescent sleep and daily functioning. The findings provide additional evidence in the national debate over how school start times impact adolescent health.

References and Links

Link between school and stress and depression

Back to school blues: Seasonality of youth suicide and the academic calendar
Is the Drive for Success Making Our Children Sick?
The Decline of Play and Rise in Children's Mental Disorders
Stress in America
15 Serious Facts About High School Stress
A review of Academic Stress Literature
NYU Study Examines Top High School Students’ Stress and Coping Mechanisms
Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection
Exam stress among causes of teen suicide
The Stats on Adolescent Depression in Schools
Why Are More American Teenagers Than Ever Suffering From Severe Anxiety?

Student sleep deprivation

Why Are Teenagers So Sleep-Deprived?
About Student Sleep Deprivation
Sleep in Middle and High School Students
Earlier School Start Times May Increase Risk of Adolescent Depression and Anxiety, URMC Study Says
Young and sleep deprived
The Impact of School Start Times on Adolescent Health and Academic Performance