Many Students in high school participate in extracurricular activities, but what effect can it have on these students? Can this affect their academic performance and stress levels? This article will share what people and studies believe to be a healthy and unhealthy balance.
While it’s important to hear from students about their everyday lives, it is also important to hear from research professionals. An article produced by neaToday states, “ Yes, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Georgia. Too many enrichment activities can result in an “overscheduled” student, and that can have adverse effects—namely heightened stress and anxiety— particularly at the high school level.” This study shows that students taking on many extracurricular activities can experience more stress for the students. Students partaking in extracurricular activities often go to a full day of school, then to their activity. They won’t arrive home until late, with school work still to do, possibly causing them to lose sleep, which is especially essential for growing bodies.
Maeva Wheeler, one of our freshman students at Lodi High School, has participated in sports every season of the school year. Maeva participates in Tennis, Basketball, and Softball at Lodi High School. Maeva stated that, “participating in these activities has made high school more stressful because I don’t have as much time to complete my homework.” Freshmen can have an especially difficult time coping with the new environment of high school, in addition to the stress of sports and homework. Maeva suggested one way that would help reduce her stress levels is to have shortened sports practices on more days of the week. During the school year, at times, Maeva feels school and sports are too demanding and could be dialed back to help her mental health.
Following Maeva, I interviewed another Freshman, Chloe Bruenig, who participates in spring sports and is a wrestling manager in the winter. Chloe sees both aspects of the sports extracurriculars, of playing the sport and managing. Chloe was asked if partaking in these activities has made school more stressful. She answered, “Yes, I feel as though I don’t have enough time to study for the upcoming tests.” This response shows that Chloe feels overwhelmed with her academic performance while being in extracurricular activities. Chloe claimed “getting more time in class to study for tests and having more resources available to study online” would help to reduce the amount of stress weighing on her when partaking in these activities.
Lastly, we have Paige Robertson, who has participated in the Cheer and Dance team during the fall and winter extracurriculars. Paige has made an emphasized point when stating her thoughts on the stress from extracurriculars. “ Although participating in cheer and dance team(s) has made my life more stressful at times, I believe it has also built character and responsibility in me as a person.” This statement highlights one of the positives of taking on extracurriculars and high academics in High school.
As you can see, there are healthy amounts and unhealthy amounts of stress students can handle throughout high school, and taking on extracurricular activities isn’t impossible. However, students and studies have shown it can have a toll on students if not handled properly or is overbearing.
