does homework make you depressed

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in.

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas about workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework. 

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says, he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy workloads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold , says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace , says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression. 

And for all the distress homework  can cause, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says, homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night. 

"Most students, especially at these high achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends, from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no-homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely but to be more mindful of the type of work students take home, suggests Kang, who was a high school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework; I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial 

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the past two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic , making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized. ... Sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking up assignments can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

More: Some teachers let their students sleep in class. Here's what mental health experts say.

More: Some parents are slipping young kids in for the COVID-19 vaccine, but doctors discourage the move as 'risky'

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August 16, 2021

Is it time to get rid of homework? Mental health experts weigh in

by Sara M Moniuszko

It's no secret that kids hate homework. And as students grapple with an ongoing pandemic that has had a wide-range of mental health impacts, is it time schools start listening to their pleas over workloads?

Some teachers are turning to social media to take a stand against homework .

Tiktok user @misguided.teacher says he doesn't assign it because the "whole premise of homework is flawed."

For starters, he says he can't grade work on "even playing fields" when students' home environments can be vastly different.

"Even students who go home to a peaceful house, do they really want to spend their time on busy work? Because typically that's what a lot of homework is, it's busy work," he says in the video that has garnered 1.6 million likes. "You only get one year to be 7, you only got one year to be 10, you only get one year to be 16, 18."

Mental health experts agree heavy work loads have the potential do more harm than good for students, especially when taking into account the impacts of the pandemic. But they also say the answer may not be to eliminate homework altogether.

Emmy Kang, mental health counselor at Humantold, says studies have shown heavy workloads can be "detrimental" for students and cause a "big impact on their mental, physical and emotional health."

"More than half of students say that homework is their primary source of stress, and we know what stress can do on our bodies," she says, adding that staying up late to finish assignments also leads to disrupted sleep and exhaustion.

Cynthia Catchings, a licensed clinical social worker and therapist at Talkspace, says heavy workloads can also cause serious mental health problems in the long run, like anxiety and depression.

And for all the distress homework causes, it's not as useful as many may think, says Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, a psychologist and CEO of Omega Recovery treatment center.

"The research shows that there's really limited benefit of homework for elementary age students, that really the school work should be contained in the classroom," he says.

For older students, Kang says homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night.

"Most students, especially at these high-achieving schools, they're doing a minimum of three hours, and it's taking away time from their friends from their families, their extracurricular activities. And these are all very important things for a person's mental and emotional health."

Catchings, who also taught third to 12th graders for 12 years, says she's seen the positive effects of a no homework policy while working with students abroad.

"Not having homework was something that I always admired from the French students (and) the French schools, because that was helping the students to really have the time off and really disconnect from school ," she says.

The answer may not be to eliminate homework completely, but to be more mindful of the type of work students go home with, suggests Kang, who was a high-school teacher for 10 years.

"I don't think (we) should scrap homework, I think we should scrap meaningless, purposeless busy work-type homework. That's something that needs to be scrapped entirely," she says, encouraging teachers to be thoughtful and consider the amount of time it would take for students to complete assignments.

The pandemic made the conversation around homework more crucial

Mindfulness surrounding homework is especially important in the context of the last two years. Many students will be struggling with mental health issues that were brought on or worsened by the pandemic, making heavy workloads even harder to balance.

"COVID was just a disaster in terms of the lack of structure. Everything just deteriorated," Kardaras says, pointing to an increase in cognitive issues and decrease in attention spans among students. "School acts as an anchor for a lot of children, as a stabilizing force, and that disappeared."

But even if students transition back to the structure of in-person classes, Kardaras suspects students may still struggle after two school years of shifted schedules and disrupted sleeping habits.

"We've seen adults struggling to go back to in-person work environments from remote work environments. That effect is amplified with children because children have less resources to be able to cope with those transitions than adults do," he explains.

'Get organized' ahead of back-to-school

In order to make the transition back to in-person school easier, Kang encourages students to "get good sleep, exercise regularly (and) eat a healthy diet."

To help manage workloads, she suggests students "get organized."

"There's so much mental clutter up there when you're disorganized... sitting down and planning out their study schedules can really help manage their time," she says.

Breaking assignments up can also make things easier to tackle.

"I know that heavy workloads can be stressful, but if you sit down and you break down that studying into smaller chunks, they're much more manageable."

If workloads are still too much, Kang encourages students to advocate for themselves.

"They should tell their teachers when a homework assignment just took too much time or if it was too difficult for them to do on their own," she says. "It's good to speak up and ask those questions. Respectfully, of course, because these are your teachers. But still, I think sometimes teachers themselves need this feedback from their students."

©2021 USA Today Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Can Excessive Homework Cause Depression? – 17 Reasons

Does Homework Cause Depression?

You or a loved one may currently be struggling with excessive amounts of homework and are wondering if can homework cause depression. The short answer is that depression can absolutely lead to depression for a variety of reasons. Identifying the cause of your homework-related depression below is the first step toward bettering your mental health. Excessive homework, lack of social support, and perfectionism are just a few of the reasons homework can lead to depression.

Reasons Why Homework Might Cause Depression:

1) multiple hours of homework.

Starting in high school, or sometimes even middle school, students begin to slowly receive more and more hours of homework. There are various reasons why multiple hours of homework per week might lead students to depression, with stress and procrastination being at the top. Certain subjects, such as mathematics or science-related classes (i.e. chemistry) might also be challenging for some students to comprehend, leading them to feel drowned in stress and procrastination. Many hours of homework on a subject that one does not understand may start as stress and procrastination, but across multiple weeks or months may gradually turn into strong feelings of inadequacy and ultimately depression.

2) Extracurricular Activities May Interfere

Only some people in high school are distinguished academics capable of effortlessly finishing hours of homework each week. Other students are naturally gifted in different areas, such as athletics, arts (such as music or drawing), or even gaming! However, these activities can also get in the way of valuable time each student needs to complete homework and be successful in school. If the student prioritizes extracurricular activities significantly more than homework, this certainly can have negative mental health consequences. Ultimately, a school/leisure balance is key when it comes to avoiding student depression and maintaining overall happiness and success!

3) Excessive Homework From Classes or Teachers

Certain subjects or teachers might also be prone to assign excessive homework that might initially be daunting. For example, mathematics, chemistry, and physics are examples of classes that high school students find both challenging and overwhelming. If these classes are not already difficult enough, a bad professor might add excessive homework that is clearly not necessary for the student’s growth. The combination of excessive homework and poor teachers can easily lead students to mild depression over time.

4) Prior Struggles With Mental Health Issues

Mental health issues in the United States and across the world are higher now than at any point in much of human history. This means that many students already have mild to severe forms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and other mental health issues. When students receive homework that they feel incapable of completing with little to no support outside school, this may only worsen their mental health. Unfortunately, depression is only one of many mental health issues students may face when confronted with challenging homework.

5) The Sleep Deprivation Cycle

Many students, especially in high school and college, naturally prefer to stay up late and wake up late. These individuals are commonly referred to as “night owls” since they mostly thrive at night. Being a “night owl” is not an inherent problem until the student’s sleep begins to fall below the recommended range of 7-9 hours per night. Sleep deprivation is defined as “a state caused by inadequate quality or quantity of sleep.”

Although side effects of sleep deprivation depend on a few factors, depression is one of the most common. Students might feel stressed during the day and procrastinate until night when they make the logical decision to stay up and finally complete the homework for the following day. This is the day-to-day reality for many students since they have yet to break the sleep deprivation-depression cycle.

6) Concern With Getting Good Grades

Although getting good grades is applauded by almost everyone ranging from students and parents to teachers and principals, some students take it to the extreme. Perfectionism is the need to appear perfect, which might be reflected by extremely good grades or high GPAs (that are often unrealistic or unnecessary). Most colleges do not require students to have anywhere near perfect good grades or GPAs, meaning students should set realistic goals while still making it possible to achieve long-term goals. Setting realistic goals for good grades can also lead students to minimize stress, depression, and other negative effects that come with perfectionism.

7) Physical Health Problems

Some students might also suffer from physical health problems that are either genetic (such as Type I Diabetes) or behavioral health problems (such as obesity). In the case of a young student with obesity, his or her most difficult class might be the physical exercise (PE) class. This student might look at other students performing the daily physical activity for class and feel a sense of inadequacy that can grow over time and lead to depression, especially if not properly addressed or guided.

There is also a slew of other physical health problems that might contribute to a student’s struggle and depression when in school. These health problems might also make it difficult for students to complete homework when away from school, due to a variety of factors.

8) Weight Loss Problems (Homework Cause Depression)

Weight loss may occur when students are overly focused on school and have little to no time to eat a highly nutritious meal. Since food gives energy to the brain and is responsible for many vital functions of the human body, it is no wonder why depression might arise out of weight loss. In addition, many students, particularly young female students, go through a time that challenges their self-image. Other students and social media might pressure these students into conforming to non-realistic beauty standards via weight loss.

9) Young Adults and Lack of Balance

High schoolers and college students are still very young in the grand scheme of life, with many lacking the crucial ability to balance school and homework with other parts of their lives. Especially with the amount of homework some classes assign, students might not balance enough time that is necessary to complete the assigned work. Students might spend much time procrastinating homework and doing fun, but less productive activities, such as playing sports or video games. Mental health counselors (either at school or in a clinical setting) can be extremely effective at helping students manage school work and ultimately avoid depression.

10) Homework and Test Scores

High schoolers and older students must find enough time to complete homework and study to get optimal test scores. Although this does vary from class to class, most individuals will have at least a few classes where balancing homework and testing is critical for success. Test anxiety is a big factor that might lead students to heavily prioritize studying for an exam instead of completing homework. If students are overly concerned with test scores and neglect to complete assigned homework, depressive symptoms may occur.

11) The Importance of Time Management

As mentioned earlier, young children or young people, in general, might often struggle to effectively complete a lot of homework. Building daily habits around homework completion for just 30 minutes per day can add up to make a massive difference (that is 4.5 hours by the end of the school week!). Not only does effective time management make it easier to complete homework, but it also removes much of the stress, procrastination, and even depression that might come as a result of little to no time management.

For younger children or even high schoolers, an adult role model can significantly help develop these necessary habits sooner rather than later.

12) Prestigious Schools Like Stanford University

High schoolers looking to get accepted into prestigious colleges like Stanford University, or college students already in prestigious schools likely have higher chances to suffer from homework-related depression. High schoolers that are accepted into Stanford University have an average GPA of 3.95 out of 4.00.

This means students trying to get into ivy league schools hold themselves to an extreme standard. This extreme standard will inevitably cause a lack of sleep, depression, and a variety of other negative effects. This does not mean that it is impossible to successfully be accepted into Stanford University, it just means it will be very challenging.

13) Teachers Assign Busy Work

Sometimes teachers (mostly in high school) assign work that is repetitive, not super challenging, and time-consuming to complete. These types of assignments are generally referred to as “busy work,” and can be the bane of some high schoolers’ existence. The problem with busy work is that students begin to focus on the completion of the homework due to the sheer amount of time they know it will take to complete it. This takes away from the overall learning experience of the student and will lead many high school students to procrastinate. Procrastination can lead to piled-up homework and can have a negative impact on the student’s depression levels. Ultimately, teachers that assign busy homework cause depression.

14) Family Stress at Home (Homework Cause Depression)

Sometimes the cause of depression is much deeper than meets the eye, with homework simply exacerbating these untouched issues. One deeper issue revolves around family members and the lack of much-needed social support from parents, siblings, and other family members in the household. These family members might simply be unwilling to provide homework support to young adults, or the issue might be as bad as mental or physical abuse. If you know someone that is being abused, please seek help immediately to help them in the long run. It is clear that these issues could easily lead one to depression.

15) Lack of Friendships and Social Life

Being isolated at school and/or at home might be one of the risk factors for developing depression from homework. Friendships can be mutually beneficial when completing tasks such as homework since students are able to check each others’ work and reduce the overall stress of heavy workloads. Students that always seem to be alone or are even bullied might be at an increased risk of serious mental health problems. It is true that some young people and older students work best alone, but this is definitely a warning sign to keep an eye out for if you are a parent.

Putting isolated students into a club or sport they have an initial interest in might be a fantastic way to help them create valuable bonds with those around them and prevent depression!

16) Social Media and Student Well-Being

Social media is something that has had clear negative effects on the mental health of many age groups in the United States but also across the world. Social media often promotes the action of comparing one’s self to others, which might be academic success in this case. Individuals that are constantly watching other students succeed online may feel like they are the only one that does not understand the course material.

The amount of time spent on social media can also often take away from time that high schoolers could be spent completing homework and other important things. Ultimately, social media is best, like many things, when consumed in moderation and is not used to negatively compare oneself with others.

17) Stomach Problems Such as Celiac Disease

Stomach problems include, but are not limited to celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), lactose intolerance, and constipation or gas. Most of these stomach problems have nausea and even vomiting as some of their primary negative effects. Attempting to do homework or even come to school when having severe nausea is challenging, to say the least. Students with these issues will often have less time as a result, and may even feel as though homework cause depression.

From the list above, there are many clear reasons why excessive homework assignments might lead a student of any age to depression. If you or someone you know struggles with severe depression, please seek professional help. Although there are many ways homework can cause depression, we are strong and capable of overcoming the depression and still achieving success. Ultimately, social support from family and friends, academic guidance, and a consistent homework routine are just a few of the things that might help reduce depression caused by homework.

2 thoughts on “Can Excessive Homework Cause Depression? – 17 Reasons”

Wowwww!! This is extremely insightful ❤️‍🔥Can’t wait for your next post !

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Education scholar Denise Pope has found that too much homework has negative effects on student well-being and behavioral engagement. (Image credit: L.A. Cicero)

A Stanford researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.

“Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good,” wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .

The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students’ views on homework.

Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.

Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.

“The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students’ advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being,” Pope wrote.

Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.

Their study found that too much homework is associated with:

* Greater stress: 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.

* Reductions in health: In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.

* Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits: Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were “not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,” according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.

A balancing act

The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.

Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as “pointless” or “mindless” in order to keep their grades up.

“This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points,” Pope said.

She said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.

“Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development,” wrote Pope.

High-performing paradox

In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. “Young people are spending more time alone,” they wrote, “which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities.”

Student perspectives

The researchers say that while their open-ended or “self-reporting” methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for “typical adolescent complaining” – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.

The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Media Contacts

Denise Pope, Stanford Graduate School of Education: (650) 725-7412, [email protected] Clifton B. Parker, Stanford News Service: (650) 725-0224, [email protected]

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More than two hours of homework may be counterproductive, research suggests.

A Stanford education researcher found that too much homework can negatively affect kids, especially their lives away from school, where family, friends and activities matter.   "Our findings on the effects of homework challenge the traditional assumption that homework is inherently good," wrote Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and a co-author of a study published in the Journal of Experimental Education .   The researchers used survey data to examine perceptions about homework, student well-being and behavioral engagement in a sample of 4,317 students from 10 high-performing high schools in upper-middle-class California communities. Along with the survey data, Pope and her colleagues used open-ended answers to explore the students' views on homework.   Median household income exceeded $90,000 in these communities, and 93 percent of the students went on to college, either two-year or four-year.   Students in these schools average about 3.1 hours of homework each night.   "The findings address how current homework practices in privileged, high-performing schools sustain students' advantage in competitive climates yet hinder learning, full engagement and well-being," Pope wrote.   Pope and her colleagues found that too much homework can diminish its effectiveness and even be counterproductive. They cite prior research indicating that homework benefits plateau at about two hours per night, and that 90 minutes to two and a half hours is optimal for high school.   Their study found that too much homework is associated with:   • Greater stress : 56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source of stress, according to the survey data. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.   • Reductions in health : In their open-ended answers, many students said their homework load led to sleep deprivation and other health problems. The researchers asked students whether they experienced health issues such as headaches, exhaustion, sleep deprivation, weight loss and stomach problems.   • Less time for friends, family and extracurricular pursuits : Both the survey data and student responses indicate that spending too much time on homework meant that students were "not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills," according to the researchers. Students were more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.   A balancing act   The results offer empirical evidence that many students struggle to find balance between homework, extracurricular activities and social time, the researchers said. Many students felt forced or obligated to choose homework over developing other talents or skills.   Also, there was no relationship between the time spent on homework and how much the student enjoyed it. The research quoted students as saying they often do homework they see as "pointless" or "mindless" in order to keep their grades up.   "This kind of busy work, by its very nature, discourages learning and instead promotes doing homework simply to get points," said Pope, who is also a co-founder of Challenge Success , a nonprofit organization affiliated with the GSE that conducts research and works with schools and parents to improve students' educational experiences..   Pope said the research calls into question the value of assigning large amounts of homework in high-performing schools. Homework should not be simply assigned as a routine practice, she said.   "Rather, any homework assigned should have a purpose and benefit, and it should be designed to cultivate learning and development," wrote Pope.   High-performing paradox   In places where students attend high-performing schools, too much homework can reduce their time to foster skills in the area of personal responsibility, the researchers concluded. "Young people are spending more time alone," they wrote, "which means less time for family and fewer opportunities to engage in their communities."   Student perspectives   The researchers say that while their open-ended or "self-reporting" methodology to gauge student concerns about homework may have limitations – some might regard it as an opportunity for "typical adolescent complaining" – it was important to learn firsthand what the students believe.   The paper was co-authored by Mollie Galloway from Lewis and Clark College and Jerusha Conner from Villanova University.

Clifton B. Parker is a writer at the Stanford News Service .

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August 23, 2022 , Filed Under: Uncategorized

How to Manage Homework-Related Stress

Ask students what causes them the most stress, and the conversation will likely turn to homework. Students have complained about homework for practically as long as it has existed. While some dismiss these complaints as students’ laziness or lack of organization, there’s more to it than that. Many students face a lot of pressure to succeed in school, sports, work, and other areas. Also, more teens and young adults are dealing with mental health problems, with up to 40% of college students reporting symptoms of depression and anxiety.  

Researchers and professionals debate over whether homework does more harm than good, but at least for now, homework is an integral part of education. How do students deal with heavy homework loads? It’s become common for overwhelmed students to use an essay service to help them complete their assigned tasks. Pulling all-nighters to finish assignments and study for tests is another strategy busy college students use, for better or worse. 

If you’re a student that’s struggling to get all your homework done, make sure to take care of your mental health. School is important, but your health is more important. Try the following tips to help you stay on top of your busy schedule.

Make a Schedule

Time management is an important skill, but you can’t learn it without effort. The first step to managing your time more effectively is to make a schedule and stick to it. Use a calendar, planner, or an app to write down everything you need to get done. Set reminders for due dates and set aside time each day for studying. Don’t leave assignments for the last minute. Plan to finish your work well ahead of the due date in case something unexpected happens and you need more time. Make sure your schedule is realistic. Give yourself a reasonable amount of time to complete each task. And schedule time for hobbies and social activities too. 

Find a Study Spot

Doing homework in a dedicated workspace can boost your productivity. Studying in bed could make you fall asleep, and doing homework in a crowded, noisy place can be distracting. You want to complete as much work as possible during your study sessions, so choose a place that’s free of distractions. Make sure you have everything you need within arm’s reach. Resist the temptation to check your notifications or social media feeds while you study. Put your phone in airplane mode if necessary so it doesn’t distract you. You don’t need a private office to study efficiently, but having a quiet, distraction-free place to do your homework can help you to get more done.

Get Enough Rest

An all-nighter every once in a while probably won’t do you any lasting harm. But a consistent lack of sleep is bad for your productivity and your health. Most young people need at least 7 hours of sleep every night, so make it your goal to go to bed on time. You’ll feel better throughout the day, have more energy, and improve your focus. Instead of dozing off while you’re doing homework, you’ll be more alert and productive if you get enough sleep. 

It’s also important to spend time relaxing and enjoying your favorite activities. Hang out with friends, take a walk, or watch a movie. You’ll feel less stressed if you take some time for yourself.

Don’t Shoot for Perfection

It’s tempting to try to get a perfect grade on every test or assignment. But perfectionism only causes unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you consider yourself a perfectionist, you might spend too much time on less important tasks. Prioritize your assignments and put more time and effort into the most important ones. 

Most people struggle with perfectionism because they’ve been taught they should do their best at everything. But you don’t have to go above and beyond for every assignment. That’s not to say you should turn in bad work. But putting in just enough effort to get by isn’t a bad thing. Don’t put pressure on yourself to be the best at everything. Focus on your most important assignments, and don’t spend too much time and effort perfecting the others. 

Almost all students deal with the burden of homework-related stress. No one enjoys the anxiety of having a lot of assignments due and not enough time to complete them. But take advantage of this opportunity to learn organization and self-discipline, which will help you throughout your life. Try making a schedule and don’t forget to set aside time to rest. When it’s time to study, choose a quiet place where you can concentrate. Don’t neglect your health; if you’re feeling anxious or depressed, talk to a counselor or your doctor. School stress is hard to avoid, but if you take these steps you can reduce homework anxiety and have better control of your time. 

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes —  Marcel Proust

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Homework Struggles May Not Be a Behavior Problem

Exploring some options to understand and help..

Posted August 2, 2022 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan

• Mental health challenges and neurodevelopmental differences directly affect children's ability to do homework.
• Understanding what difficulties are getting in the way—beyond the usual explanation of a behavior problem—is key.
• Sleep and mental health needs can take priority over homework completion.

Chelsea was in 10th grade the first time I told her directly to stop doing her homework and get some sleep. I had been working with her since she was in middle school, treating her anxiety disorder. She deeply feared disappointing anyone—especially her teachers—and spent hours trying to finish homework perfectly. The more tired and anxious she got, the harder it got for her to finish the assignments.

One night Chelsea called me in despair, feeling hopeless. She was exhausted and couldn’t think straight. She felt like a failure and that she was a burden to everyone because she couldn’t finish her homework.

She was shocked when I told her that my prescription for her was to go to sleep now—not to figure out how to finish her work. I told her to leave her homework incomplete and go to sleep. We briefly discussed how we would figure it out the next day, with her mom and her teachers. At that moment, it clicked for her that it was futile to keep working—because nothing was getting done.

This was an inflection point for her awareness of when she was emotionally over-cooked and when she needed to stop and take a break or get some sleep. We repeated versions of this phone call several times over the course of her high school and college years, but she got much better at being able to do this for herself most of the time.

When Mental Health Symptoms Interfere with Homework

Kids with mental health or neurodevelopmental challenges often struggle mightily with homework. Challenges can come up in every step of the homework process, including, but not limited to:

• Remembering and tracking assignments and materials
• Getting the mental energy/organization to start homework
• Filtering distractions enough to persist with assignments
• Understanding unspoken or implied parts of the homework
• Remembering to bring finished homework to class
• Being in class long enough to know the material
• Tolerating the fear of not knowing or failing
• Not giving up the assignment because of a panic attack
• Tolerating frustration—such as not understanding—without emotional dysregulation
• Being able to ask for help—from a peer or a teacher and not being afraid to reach out

This list is hardly comprehensive. ADHD , autism spectrum disorder, social anxiety , generalized anxiety, panic disorder, depression , dysregulation, and a range of other neurodevelopmental and mental health challenges cause numerous learning differences and symptoms that can specifically and frequently interfere with getting homework done.

The Usual Diagnosis for Homework Problems is "Not Trying Hard Enough"

Unfortunately, when kids frequently struggle to meet homework demands, teachers and parents typically default to one explanation of the problem: The child is making a choice not to do their homework. That is the default “diagnosis” in classrooms and living rooms. And once this framework is drawn, the student is often seen as not trying hard enough, disrespectful, manipulative, or just plain lazy.

The fundamental disconnect here is that the diagnosis of homework struggles as a behavioral choice is, in fact, only one explanation, while there are so many other diagnoses and differences that impair children's ability to consistently do their homework. If we are trying to create solutions based on only one understanding of the problem, the solutions will not work. More devastatingly, the wrong solutions can worsen the child’s mental health and their long-term engagement with school and learning.

To be clear, we aren’t talking about children who sometimes struggle with or skip homework—kids who can change and adapt their behaviors and patterns in response to the outcomes of that struggle. For this discussion, we are talking about children with mental health and/or neurodevelopmental symptoms and challenges that create chronic difficulties with meeting homework demands.

How Can You Help a Child Who Struggles with Homework?

How can you help your child who is struggling to meet homework demands because of their ADHD, depression, anxiety, OCD , school avoidance, or any other neurodevelopmental or mental health differences? Let’s break this down into two broad areas—things you can do at home, and things you can do in communication with the school.

Helping at Home

The following suggestions for managing school demands at home can feel counterintuitive to parents—because we usually focus on helping our kids to complete their tasks. But mental health needs jump the line ahead of task completion. And starting at home will be key to developing an idea of what needs to change at school.

• Set an end time in the evening after which no more homework will be attempted. Kids need time to decompress and they need sleep—and pushing homework too close to or past bedtime doesn’t serve their educational needs. Even if your child hasn’t been able to approach the homework at all, even if they have avoided and argued the whole evening, it is still important for everyone to have a predictable time to shut down the whole process.
• If there are arguments almost every night about homework, if your child isn’t starting homework or finishing it, reframe it from failure into information. It’s data to put into problem-solving. We need to consider other possible explanations besides “behavioral choice” when trying to understand the problem and create effective solutions. What problems are getting in the way of our child’s meeting homework demands that their peers are meeting most of the time?
• Try not to argue about homework. If you can check your own anxiety and frustration, it can be more productive to ally with your child and be curious with them. Kids usually can’t tell you a clear “why” but maybe they can tell you how they are feeling and what they are thinking. And if your child can’t talk about it or just keeps saying “I don't know,” try not to push. Come back another time. Rushing, forcing, yelling, and threatening will predictably not help kids do homework.

Helping at School

The second area to explore when your neurodiverse child struggles frequently with homework is building communication and connections with school and teachers. Some places to focus on include the following.

• Label your child’s diagnoses and break down specific symptoms for the teachers and school team. Nonjudgmental, but specific language is essential for teachers to understand your child’s struggles. Breaking their challenges down into the problems specific to homework can help with building solutions. As your child gets older, help them identify their difficulties and communicate them to teachers.
• Let teachers and the school team know that your child’s mental health needs—including sleep—take priority over finishing homework. If your child is always struggling to complete homework and get enough sleep, or if completing homework is leading to emotional meltdowns every night, adjusting their homework demands will be more successful than continuing to push them into sleep deprivation or meltdowns.
• Request a child study team evaluation to determine if your child qualifies for services under special education law such as an IEP, or accommodations through section 504—and be sure that homework adjustments are included in any plan. Or if such a plan is already in place, be clear that modification of homework expectations needs to be part of it.

The Long-Term Story

I still work with Chelsea and she recently mentioned how those conversations so many years ago are still part of how she approaches work tasks or other demands that are spiking her anxiety when she finds herself in a vortex of distress. She stops what she is doing and prioritizes reducing her anxiety—whether it’s a break during her day or an ending to the task for the evening. She sees that this is crucial to managing her anxiety in her life and still succeeding at what she is doing.

Task completion at all costs is not a solution for kids with emotional needs. Her story (and the story of many of my patients) make this crystal clear.

Candida Fink, M.D. , is board certified in child/adolescent and general psychiatry. She practices in New York and has co-authored two books— The Ups and Downs of Raising a Bipolar Child and Bipolar Disorder for Dummies.

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Is Excessive Homework the Cause of Many Teen Issues?

Sydney Trebus , Business Manager | September 15, 2019

Does excessive homework really make a student perform worse? Is homework a big influencer on the emotional and physical health of students? Can we change the bad reputation homework has obtained over the years or is it too late?

Today, schooling is ever-changing, currently focusing on a “necessary” end goal of attending college. Standards are rising, teachers are better trained, and students are left with rigorous courses riddled with hours and hours of homework. People are now wondering how important homework really is. Is that just the overload talking or does homework actually have a negative impact on students? 

Popular opinion would suggest yes, claiming that homework is a useless and stress-inducing part of school at any age. Many Boulder High students communicate a similar complaint. 

Seniors Carson Williams and Carson Bennett voiced their opinions. Bennet says that “Homework results in later bedtimes which means we get less sleep and therefore, have less energy the next day.” Williams agreed and added,“Homework is good if you need it to study, but if it is just busywork then it is useless.” 

Another student, Bishal Ellison, commented that in some classes “homework doesn’t impact [his] success, there is no point … In one of [his] classes, homework is just for extra credit.”

While student opinions are extremely significant, teachers are the ones in control of this so-called “stress inducing and useless activity.” 

Mr. Weatherly, an AP World Geography teacher here at Boulder High, commented that homework has an enormous impact on the success of students within the class; he claimed that there is simply not enough time in class to review everything. He does, however, agree with popular opinion, saying, “Teachers give homework thinking about their own class, not the five or six others students have.” 

So which is it? How important is homework? Homework has been seen both beneficial and detrimental in association with time. Homework over a certain time limit can cause stress, depression, anxiety, lack of sleep, and more. 

Homework distracts from extracurriculars and sports as well, something colleges often look for. Homework is ultimately leading students to resent school as a whole.

According to a study done by Stanford University, 56 percent of students considered homework a primary source of stress, 43 percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while less than one percent of the students said homework was not a stressor. They were able to conclude that too much homework can result in a lack of sleep, headaches, exhaustion, and weight loss. 

Experts denote that the homework assigned to students today promotes less active learning and instead leads to boredom and a lack of problem-solving skills. Active learning, done through students learning from each other through discussion and collaboration, enhances a student’s ability to analyze and apply content to aid them in a real-world setting. 

This negative attitude towards homework can, unfortunately, arise at a young age, especially in today’s schooling systems. 

Students in all grades are required to extend the hard rigor of school past the average eight hours they need to spend inside the building. According to an Education Week article by Marva Hinton, kindergarteners are often required to do a minimum of 30 minutes of homework a night; these young students are expected to read for 15 minutes as well as work on a packet for another 15-30 minutes. 

Kindergarten is forcing children to learn concepts they may not be ready for, discouraging them at a young age. As a principle rule, the National PTA recommends 10 to 20 minutes of homework per night for children in first grade and an additional 10 minutes for every grade after that. 

After this time marker, homework begins to be detrimental to the success of a student. Additionally, according to the Journal of Educational Psychology , students who did more than 90 to 100 minutes of homework per night actually did worse on tests than those with less than 90 minutes of homework.

The hours of homework students receive takes time that could be spent on extracurriculars, with family and friends, or on sports or activities. Children and young adults focus a large part of their time and energy on school, removing time to replenish and work on other skills in life, including socializing. 

Physical activity can actually be very beneficial to the success rates of students, improving self-esteem, well-being, motivation, memory, focus, and higher thinking. 

According to the   US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) , exercise has an impact on cognitive skills such as concentration and attention, and it enhances classroom attitudes and behaviors. 

The more time taken away from the emotional and physical health of a student, the more resentful they will be towards school. In kindergarten, over 85 percent of students are enthusiastic about learning and attending school, whereas 40 percent of high school students are chronically disengaged from school and any learning that takes place. 

What’s even more baffling is that as students enter high school, they are expected to be enthusiastic about school, obtain perfect grades and test scores, and do extracurricular activities and sports in order to get into a good college. 

Logan Powell, the Dean of Admissions at Brown University asks when accepting students, “Have they learned time management skills, leadership, teamwork, discipline? How have they grown as a person and what qualities will they bring to our campus?” 

These are unrealistic standards for students who most likely already have negative attitudes towards school and homework and aren’t given the opportunity to work on the skills colleges look for by exploring their community through clubs, volunteering, and working.

Experts see how detrimental homework can really be for a plethora of reasons; Donaldson Pressman reported that homework is not only not beneficial to a students grades or GPA, but it is also  detrimental to their attitude towards school, their grades, their self-confidence, their social skills, and their quality of life.” 

Homework, however, helps student achievement, reinforces good habits, involves parents in their students’ learning, and helps students remember material learned in class. 

This is all based on the circumstances however, if schools keep making homework more prominent in the learning system, students will lose their passion for learning. Unfortunately, many of us already have. So when teachers consider giving homework to their students, they should ask themselves how they believe it will improve their students’ learning and abilities.

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Chris • Feb 23, 2023 at 6:24 am

I hate homework in 5th grade

Jason • May 24, 2023 at 8:25 am

good luck in 7th grade then cuz that’s where finals start to get difficult. I’m barely keeping up right now and have to stay up late to keep up with the work.

John • May 9, 2022 at 11:40 am

Good article very informative.

Garrett • May 19, 2022 at 7:01 pm

yes i agree

18 Hidden Ways Depression Affects You at School

With all the pressure of getting good grades, participating in extracurriculars and having a social life, school can be a stressful time for anyone. But for students with depression –who may have trouble finding the motivation to get out of bed, let alone finish their assignments — it can be especially difficult, and sometimes teachers and family don’t understand.

But it’s not always obvious when a student has depression — so  we asked people in our mental health community to share hidden ways depression affects their experience at school.

Here’s what they had to say:

1. “Far too often, I end up procrastinating because either I’m too emotionally exhausted to do my work, or I want to distract myself from the depressive thoughts. So I spend time watching TV or browsing through the internet. In classes, I’ll try to focus but end up zoning out or just ignoring what’s happening around me. Somehow, I still manage to get decent grades, but it baffles me.” — Alaura F.

2. “When you have one of your ‘episodes’ so to speak, you just sit in class and can’t take anything in or concentrate. Then you don’t learn, and when it happens often you find yourself having no idea what’s been going on for months.” — Eliyah R.

3. “I used to stay in the library doing assignments for as many hours as possible to avoid people and focus on something other than how bad I felt. Before I used to be passionate about what I wrote, but during that period there was zero passion in my writing, it was purely mundane. Plus, I knew if I didn’t fight procrastination and get assignments done then I would also have my anxiety to contend with when they were due.” — Kashmere N

4. “I think the hardest part for me is knowing I need to study or do homework but completely lacking the motivation to do so. And knowing how important keeping my daily routine is but so quickly falling behind.” — Jamie W.

5. “A lot of the time you get labeled the ‘lazy teenager’ or other such cliches. Yes, it may have taken me five hours to get out of bed, and yes, my assignments weren’t met. But there are hidden reasons. Often I am late for classes not because I cannot be bothered but because it is completely impossible to get out of the house in less than five hours some days. The lack of motivation is hard to deal with.” — Lucy M.

6. “Sometimes I didn’t do my homework because: ‘I’m a failure so why do I even try?’”— Noella K.

7. “Fear of failure definitely. Self-doubt. It just gets to a point when I give up and miss out on some opportunities my ‘normal’ brain would jump sky high for. I get this clouded vision that I’m not capable or worthy of anything and that there’s no point in trying, I’m useless anyway. It affects my grades and my social life. I lose friends and respect from my teachers, and it hurts worse in the long run. Now that I’m slowly recovering, every day I’m realizing how much self-doubt gets in the way of the person I want to be and my future.” — Hannah F.

8. “Oftentimes, I go to college on very little sleep. Some days it will be none, and other days it will be two to four hours. That’s just the norm to me. In episodes, I am in a constant fog and my body feels super heavy. I feel even worse and can’t concentrate on top of my other depressive and borderline personality syndrome (BPD) symptoms.” — Kellyann N.

9. “When I was a student, my depression would get the best of me, I wouldn’t study or write my papers. Not because I didn’t want to — oh, I thought and worried about it constantly. I couldn’t do it because my depression keep telling me what I wrote was garbage, what I studied didn’t matter, and it all piles up. I would get so overwhelmed I would blank out in class, staring off and couldn’t focus. Then class would be over and I would be so upset with myself because I didn’t pay attention. That only fed the depression, telling me I would never make it so why should I bother.  I was trapped in my own mind.” — Carolyn A.

10. “I distracted myself by obsessing with my notes. Color-coordinated, perfect writing, prefect lines, thorough essays. I had all straight As. No one knew I had a war in my head because I was the perfect student. But when my work was done… my thoughts would flood back to me and I’d become overwhelmed. Repeat the process until I would go home and cry for an hour.” — Jessica S.

11. “Not being able to attend classes and having to make up reasons for why you’re not there. To both your teachers and your family. And when living in dorms, the humiliation of bringing your trash or dishes out from your bedroom when you haven’t had the energy or motivation to clean your room for like a week. People just think you’re gross or lazy. But I genuinely couldn’t face going into the kitchen if anyone was there. Also, weight gain. I’m a comfort eater and rarely had the energy to cook, so I would mostly get take out or order something in. I tried to convince myself that my flatmates didn’t notice or care, till one day I came through to cook, and some of my flatmates were in the kitchen. And I know they were trying to be friendly and supportive, but they made a fuss over the fact I was actually in the kitchen cooking. And all I wanted to do was flee back to my bedroom and not show my face now that I knew they were observing my eating habits. I was humiliated.” — Rebecca B.

12. “When you want to sit by yourself in class, but teachers keep coming up asking, ‘Are you OK?’ ‘Do you want someone to come sit here?’  They mean well, but it serves as a constant reminder that today I’m not strong enough to interact with my peers.” — Katriana F.

13. “It’s a snowball effect. Depression affects my ability to get things done efficiently, so then I have two options: 1) I stay up late and avoid social events so no one knows I’m struggling or 2) I avoid the issue with all sorts of procrastination until I force myself to do just the bare minimum. Either way I feel guilt and shame about it and stay stuck in the downward spiral.” — Emily C.

14 . “When an episode hits, it really does feel like my mind is broken. I try to study but can’t, and it soon turns into this spiral of very harsh self-criticism and zoning out while my brain tries so desperately to recover. When this happens, I try to use music to relate to. Music really helps me sort my thoughts out, but unfortunately, a day of studying was just ruined because of my inability to pay attention.” — Morgan M.

15. “At university I used to spend pretty much every free day I had in the library working – I knew if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed or do anything productive. I didn’t always get much done, but the fact that I had got out of bed and done something made the negative thoughts a little less intrusive and kept them at bay to a certain extent” — Rebecca D.

16. “ As much as you want to succeed, you feel like you’re dragging around too much to be able to function. You let school work fall behind. You care deep down, but depression pulls you in deeper. You watch the teacher speak, but nothing is comprehended.” — Meaghan T.

17. “It’s having no motivation to do work while at school but then getting home and feeling so exhausted it seems impossible to attempt any of the work I didn’t do. It’s sitting silently and being constantly scrutinized for it — ‘Are you OK?’ ‘You seem quiet.’ ‘Someone’s in a mood.’ ‘Stop PMS-ing/sulking.’ Not once was I ever asked, ‘Is your mental health affecting your studies?’ That would have made an enormous difference.” — Rosie B.

18. “A positive note: School is what pulls me through. If I didn’t have my study I don’t know how I would’ve handled life. School is something I have to do, it’s my number one priority. Yes, it’s sometimes very difficult because of the episodes which I had randomly in class, but my best friend (who is in the same class) knows about my depression so knows how to handle it. I had days where I just couldn’t get out of bed because of it, but then I think about how important school is for me and I always end up happy for going to school. It’s a distraction and a motivation to keep on going for me. ” — Noella K.

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Does Homework Cause Stress? Exploring the Impact on Students’ Mental Health

How much homework is too much?

Jump to: The Link Between Homework and Stress | Homework’s Impact on Mental Health | Benefits of Homework | How Much Homework Should Teacher’s Assign? | Advice for Students | How Healium Helps

Homework has become a matter of concern for educators, parents, and researchers due to its potential effects on students’ stress levels. It’s no secret students often find themselves grappling with high levels of stress and anxiety throughout their academic careers, so understanding the extent to which homework affects those stress levels is important. 

By delving into the latest research and understanding the underlying factors at play, we hope to curate insights for educators, parents, and students who are wondering  is homework causing stress in their lives?

The Link Between Homework and Stress: What the Research Says

Over the years, numerous studies investigated the relationship between homework and stress levels in students. 

One study published in the Journal of Experimental Education found that students who reported spending more than two hours per night on homework experienced higher stress levels and physical health issues . Those same students reported over three hours of homework a night on average.

This study, conducted by Stanford lecturer Denise Pope, has been heavily cited throughout the years, with WebMD eproducing the below video on the topic– part of their special report series on teens and stress : 

Additional studies published by Sleep Health Journal found that long hours on homework on may be a risk factor for depression while also suggesting that reducing workload outside of class may benefit sleep and mental fitness .

Lastly, a study presented by Frontiers in Psychology highlighted significant health implications for high school students facing chronic stress, including emotional exhaustion and alcohol and drug use.

Homework’s Potential Impact on Mental Health and Well-being

Homework-induced stress on students can involve both psychological and physiological side effects. 

1. Potential Psychological Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Anxiety: The pressure to perform academically and meet homework expectations can lead to heightened levels of anxiety in students. Constant worry about completing assignments on time and achieving high grades can be overwhelming.

• Sleep Disturbances : Homework-related stress can disrupt students’ sleep patterns, leading to sleep anxiety or sleep deprivation, both of which can negatively impact cognitive function and emotional regulation.

• Reduced Motivation: Excessive homework demands could drain students’ motivation, causing them to feel fatigued and disengaged from their studies. Reduced motivation may lead to a lack of interest in learning, hindering overall academic performance.

2. Potential Physical Effects of Homework-Induced Stress:

• Impaired Immune Function: Prolonged stress could weaken the immune system, making students more susceptible to illnesses and infections.

• Disrupted Hormonal Balance : The body’s stress response triggers the release of hormones like cortisol, which, when chronically elevated due to stress, can disrupt the delicate hormonal balance and lead to various health issues.

• Gastrointestinal Disturbances: Stress has been known to affect the gastrointestinal system, leading to symptoms such as stomachaches, nausea, and other digestive problems.

• Cardiovascular Impact: The increased heart rate and elevated blood pressure associated with stress can strain the cardiovascular system, potentially increasing the risk of heart-related issues in the long run.

• Brain impact: Prolonged exposure to stress hormones may impact the brain’s functioning , affecting memory, concentration, and cognitive abilities.

The Benefits of Homework

It’s important to note that homework also offers many benefits that contribute to students’ academic growth and development, such as: 

• Development of Time Management Skills: Completing homework within specified deadlines encourages students to manage their time efficiently. This valuable skill extends beyond academics and becomes essential in various aspects of life.

• Preparation for Future Challenges : Homework helps prepare students for future academic challenges and responsibilities. It fosters a sense of discipline and responsibility, qualities that are crucial for success in higher education and professional life.

• Enhanced Problem-Solving Abilities: Homework often presents students with challenging problems to solve. Tackling these problems independently nurtures critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

While homework can foster discipline, time management, and self-directed learning, the middle ground may be to  strike a balance that promotes both academic growth and mental well-being .

How Much Homework Should Teachers Assign?

As a general guideline, educators suggest assigning a workload that allows students to grasp concepts effectively without overwhelming them . Quality over quantity is key, ensuring that homework assignments are purposeful, relevant, and targeted towards specific objectives. 

Advice for Students: How to balance Homework and Well-being

Finding a balance between academic responsibilities and well-being is crucial for students. Here are some practical tips and techniques to help manage homework-related stress and foster a healthier approach to learning:

• Effective Time Management : Encourage students to create a structured study schedule that allocates sufficient time for homework, breaks, and other activities. Prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals can prevent last-minute rushes and reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed.

• Break Tasks into Smaller Chunks : Large assignments can be daunting and may contribute to stress. Students should break such tasks into smaller, manageable parts. This approach not only makes the workload seem less intimidating but also provides a sense of accomplishment as each section is completed.

• Find a Distraction-Free Zone : Establish a designated study area that is free from distractions like smartphones, television, or social media. This setting will improve focus and productivity, reducing time needed to complete homework.

• Be Active : Regular exercise is known to reduce stress and enhance mood. Encourage students to incorporate physical activity into their daily routine, whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or doing yoga.

• Practice Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques : Encourage students to engage in mindfulness practices, such as deep breathing exercises or meditation, to alleviate stress and improve concentration. Taking short breaks to relax and clear the mind can enhance overall well-being and cognitive performance.

• Seek Support : Teachers, parents, and school counselors play an essential role in supporting students. Create an open and supportive environment where students feel comfortable expressing their concerns and seeking help when needed.

How Healium is Helping in Schools

Stress is caused by so many factors and not just the amount of work students are taking home.  Our company created a virtual reality stress management solution… a mental fitness tool called “Healium” that’s teaching students how to learn to self-regulate their stress and downshift in a drugless way. Schools implementing Healium have seen improvements from supporting dysregulated students and ADHD challenges to empowering students with body awareness and learning to self-regulate stress . Here’s one of their stories. 

By providing students with the tools they need to self-manage stress and anxiety, we represent a forward-looking approach to education that prioritizes the holistic development of every student. 

To learn more about how Healium works, watch the video below.

About the Author

Sarah Hill , a former interactive TV news journalist at NBC, ABC, and CBS affiliates in Missouri, gained recognition for pioneering interactive news broadcasting using Google Hangouts. She is now the CEO of Healium, the world’s first biometrically powered immersive media channel, helping those with stress, anxiety, insomnia, and other struggles through biofeedback storytelling. With patents, clinical validation, and over seven million views, she has reshaped the landscape of immersive media.

Clinical psychology

• Anxiety disorders
• Feeding and eating disorders
• Mood disorders
• Neuro-developmental disorders
• Personality disorders
• Affirmations
• Cover Letters
• Relationships
• Resignation & Leave letters

Psychotherapy

Personality.

Table of Contents

Can’t do homework because depressed? (9 ways to cope)

As a BetterHelp affiliate, we may receive compensation from BetterHelp if you purchase products or services through the links provided.

The Optimistminds editorial team is made up of psychologists, psychiatrists and mental health professionals. Each article is written by a team member with exposure to and experience in the subject matter.  The article then gets reviewed by a more senior editorial member. This is someone with extensive knowledge of the subject matter and highly cited published material.

The article below is focused on what to do if you can’t do homework because you are depressed. 

Depression and anhedonia 

Anhedonia is a condition where an individual suffers from the lack of motivation and pleasure to engage himself or herself in any activity.

One of the major symptoms of depression is anhedonia. Other symptoms along with anhedonia are feelings of sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness and excessive or too less appetite.

To not be able to do homework because of depression is nothing to be shocked about. It is normal for anyone regardless of the presence of any mental illness to not feel like doing homework and assignment. But if you feel you cannot concentrate on anything that you are planning to do and end up feeling depressed then these ways may help you to cope up.

• Engage in physical activity 

In an article published in the journal ” Psychology”, it has been mentioned that sustained physical activity can help a person with his or her bad mood by balancing out the chemicals in their body, restricting the frequency of crisis and offering means of catharsis.

The benefits of doing some physical activity on a regular basis keeps your body fit, mind energetic, increases blood supply to all the organs and decreases risk of becoming depressed and sad.

Activities that you can do:

Doing exercise at home

You can surf the youtube and grab loads of videos on cardio, warm ups, ab workout and many more. 

I personally like Chloe ting’s workout videos. When I cannot concentrate, I usually start off with any of her challenging videos which eventually makes me feel strong, focused and energetic.

• Go out for a walk

If you think cardio is not your thing, you can simply grab your earphones and go our for a short walk. When you are walking look around your vicinity, attend to the trees and plants around you. Attend to anything that catches your eyes. You shall feel happier I assure.

• Take a ride

You can also take a bicycle ride surrounding your locality to get some fresh air and help yourself. 

If you feel you cannot concentrate on your homeworks and assignments, you can get any kind of physical activity included in your schedule. This will help you lighten your mood thus you will be able to concentrate on your studies. 

2. Practice mindfulness

Mindfulness is a mental state in which a person experiences the present moment without getting distracted by the memories of the past or the anticipations of the future.

Mindfulness will help you get back to tracking and get going with your task.

When you feel like you do not want to sit with your homework, follow this easy mindfulness strategy.

Sit back and relax; close your eyes; focus on what is happening around you; become conscious of your breathing; breathe consciously; inhale and exhale bigger; feel all the five senses individually; feel the place where you are sitting; feel the black hollow of your closed eyes; breathe the smell of the air; feel your tongue, listen to all the sounds happening around; don’t think about what you have done or you plan to do. Just feel the moment and you will be able to concentrate on your homework.

3. W‌‌rite journal

Writing a journal when you cannot concentrate on your homework can help you get over anhedonia. 

We all need to socialize at some point to share our feelings and emotions especially when we are not happy or feeling depressed.

It is always not possible to find a person to talk to, who would be understanding. Instead you can find a therapist in your own diary. Write what you have to say to a diary and give yourself advice as if you are your own therapist. This type of cognitive restructuring will help you with feelings of depression and anhedonia. 

• Start doing a hobby 

If you have a hobby that you like to do, start doing it. You need some motivation and energy to work efficiently. Start a new hobby or get yourself engaged in an old one. If you like baking, go and grab the ingredients from the nearest grocery story and start off, you can even prepare a Depression Cake. If you like watching movies, call upon some friends and watch a good movie that will inspire you. You can also listen to songs, watch games and sketch your heart out. 

You can also start a new hobby or experiment with your old ones. This will help you attain a lot of energy and greater goals in life. 

• Start with small goals

It is very important to give attention to how you plan your day. You should not make unrealistic plans of completing a ton of tasks in one day. Start with small goals. If you feel your assigned task will take more than a day, plan it likewise. Afterall who likes monotony? Make sure your assignment does not make you bored and uninterested. 

According to studies, socializing is a good way of getting over depression. You can socialize over the internet. Nowadays the internet has connected people from all over the world through social media. You can also register in various depression chat rooms to talk to people and get support from users. You can go out and hang around with your friends. 

You can also call up a friend of yours and talk for some time. This will provide you with instant energy so that you can sit properly with your studies.

• Take a break 

It is very important to take a break when you feel you cannot do something that you are assigned to do.

At times we are depressed and we do not feel motivated enough to do anything. We are bored at the monotony of our lives. We should take breaks and not force ourselves to do something, which we have no intrinsic motivation towards. 

• Use depression chat rooms

Depression chat rooms are online platforms where people who are suffering from depression communicate  with each other about their experiences and receive mutual support and help. 

These chat rooms are moderated by a volunteer who makes sure that the rules and ethics of the site is maintained.

Depression chat rooms and forums are quite helpful because people these days find chat rooms easier to use because of their availability and trustworthiness compared to getting an appointment from therapists.

Some common Chat rooms and forums 

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) offers support groups and forums led by peers to help people living with depression and bipolar disorders to share experiences and coping skills thus gaining hope. Depression Chat Rooms

Depression Chat Rooms from depression-chat-rooms.org aims to make people suffering from depression and anxiety communicate with each other. They also welcome people with similar or related health issues such as bipolar disorder and eating disorders. The website is independent, nonprofit, and free.

Depression Forums

Depression Forums offers forums on topics ranging from depression, anxiety to bipolar along with ways to recover, cope and therapy moderated by volunteers. This forum is trusted and has members around 70000.

Depression Sanctuary

Depression Sanctuary is a well-known nonprofit organization created to provide safe, moderated services for people with depression and anxiety. They  seek support from other like-minded people in these chatrooms. Membership is required to participate in the Depression Sanctuary chat rooms, but it’s completely free to join.

The are hosted at specific times. You have to make sure that you abide by the rules and regulations of the chatrooms and treat every member respectfully. The volunteers working over here also suffer from depression. Please be kind to them and treat them with respect.

.Depression Understood

Depression Understood offers a depression chat room that is always open. They aim to have a relaxed, supportive, and informal atmosphere for people who like virtual talk therapy services. 

HealthUnlocked

HealthUnlocked runs in partnership with the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) and offers a safe space for anxiety and depression support. 

Healthfulcha t is a trustworthy service for people who are succumbed to any sort of mental illness. They say “ Here, you will find a Depression Chat Room , depression forums, and a depression social network. It is the hope of HealthfulChat that these important forms of peer support, along with whatever medical attention you may be receiving will help bring you up out of the cloud of depression so that you can begin to enjoy life again. 

• Don’t give up

You should keep on trying until and unless you gain your concentration to do your assignments in time. Depression should not overpower your potential. Perseverance is the cornerstone of never giving up. Some might consider it being stubborn. But in reality, it is just a doggedness of pushing forward when times get tough and never giving up until you have achieved your dreams. One of the key facets of never giving up is hard work, patience, commitment and self-love

Conclusion 

From the article we got to know what to do if you can’t do homework because you are depressed. The article also points out the reason behind lack of motivation also known as anhedonia and how it can be overpowering when someone is depressed. It can be concluded that not being able to do homework because of depression is nothing to be shocked about. It is normal for anyone regardless of the presence of any mental illness to not feel like doing homework and assignment. But if you feel you cannot concentrate on anything that you are planning to do and end up feeling depressed then these ways may help you to cope up.

FAQs : Can’t do homework because depressed

Can anhedonia be cured.

At present, there are no treatments aimed at anhedonia.

Is anhedonia a mental illness?

Anhedonia is the inability to feel pleasure. It’s a common symptom of depression as well as other mental health disorders.

What is an example of anhedonia?

To not be able to do homework because of depression is nothing to be shocked about. It is normal for anyone regardless of the presence of any mental illness to not feel like doing homework and assignment. But if you feel you cannot concentrate on anything that you are planning to do and end up feeling depressed then that can be a sign of anhedonia.

Does exercise help anhedonia?

Absolutely yes. The benefits of doing some physical activity on a regular basis keeps your body fit, mind energetic, increases blood supply to all the organs and decreases risk of becoming depressed and sad.

You can surf the youtube and grab loads of videos on cardio, warm ups, ab workout and many more.   I personally like Chloe ting’s workout videos. When I cannot concentrate, I usually start off with any of her challenging videos which eventually makes me feel strong, focused and energetic.

Can yoga help anhedonia?

Yes yoga makes you mindful and can help you fight with anhedonia

Can lifestyle have an effect on depression?

Lifestyle factors can influence depression such as lack of nutrition, lack of physical activity, experience of trauma etc. 

Can’t force myself to do homework?

Tips and Tricks on How to Motivate Yourself to Do Homework Listen to music, but not just any music.  Set goals and establish a reward system.  Take regular breaks.  Keep the consequences in mind.  Get some rest, if needed.

Who invented homework?

Horace Mann

Instead, it is believed that Horace Mann, an American 19th-century politician and educational reformer, invented the modern concept of homework and made it an educational essential in schools.

Why is HomeWork bad?

In 2013, research conducted at Stanford University found that students in high-achieving communities who spend too much time on homework experience more stress, physical health problems.

Is homework a waste of time?

Homework is a waste of time, indeed. 

Why is homework bad for your health?

Homework can cause physical problems as well as mental.

How to deal with homework when depressed?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK201497/

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-bring-myself-to-do-homework-with-depression

Was this helpful?

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Are We Talking Too Much About Mental Health?

Recent studies cast doubt on whether large-scale mental health interventions are making young people better. Some even suggest they can have a negative effect.

By Ellen Barry

In recent years, mental health has become a central subject in childhood and adolescence. Teenagers narrate their psychiatric diagnosis and treatment on TikTok and Instagram. School systems, alarmed by rising levels of distress and self-harm, are introducing preventive coursework in emotional self-regulation and mindfulness.

Now, some researchers warn that we are in danger of overdoing it. Mental health awareness campaigns, they argue, help some young people identify disorders that badly need treatment — but they have a negative effect on others, leading them to over-interpret their symptoms and see themselves as more troubled than they are.

The researchers point to unexpected results in trials of school-based mental health interventions in the United Kingdom and Australia: Students who underwent training in the basics of mindfulness , cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavior therapy did not emerge healthier than peers who did not participate, and some were worse off, at least for a while.

And new research from the United States shows that among young people, “self-labeling” as having depression or anxiety is associated with poor coping skills, like avoidance or rumination.

In a paper published last year , two research psychologists at the University of Oxford, Lucy Foulkes and Jack Andrews, coined the term “prevalence inflation” — driven by the reporting of mild or transient symptoms as mental health disorders — and suggested that awareness campaigns were contributing to it.

“It’s creating this message that teenagers are vulnerable, they’re likely to have problems, and the solution is to outsource them to a professional,” said Dr. Foulkes, a Prudence Trust Research Fellow in Oxford’s department of experimental psychology, who has written two books on mental health and adolescence.

Until high-quality research has clarified these unexpected negative effects, they argue, school systems should proceed cautiously with large-scale mental health interventions.

“It’s not that we need to go back to square one, but it’s that we need to press pause and reroute potentially,” Dr. Foulkes said. “It’s possible that something very well-intended has overshot a bit and needs to be brought back in.”

This remains a minority view among specialists in adolescent mental health, who mostly agree that the far more urgent problem is lack of access to treatment.

About 60 percent of young Americans with severe depression receive no treatment, according to Mental Health America, a nonprofit research group. In crisis, desperate families fall back on emergency rooms, where teens often remain for days before a psychiatric bed opens up. There is good reason to embrace a preventive approach, teaching schoolchildren basic skills that might forestall crises later, experts say.

Dr. Foulkes said she understood that her argument runs counter to that consensus, and when she began to present it, she braced for a backlash. To her surprise, she said, many educators reached out to express quiet agreement.

“There’s definitely a fear about being the one to say it,” she said.

A deflating result

In the summer of 2022, the results of a landmark study on mindfulness training in British classrooms landed — like a lead balloon.

The trial, My Resilience in Adolescence, or MYRIAD, was ambitious, meticulous and expansive, following about 28,000 teenagers over eight years. It had been launched in a glow of optimism that the practice would pay off, improving the students’ mental health outcomes in later years.

Half of the teenagers were trained by their teachers to direct their attention to the present moment — breathing, physical sensations or everyday activities — in 10 lessons of 30 to 50 minutes apiece.

The results were disappointing . The authors reported “no support for our hypothesis” that mindfulness training would improve students’ mental health. In fact, students at highest risk for mental health problems did somewhat worse after receiving the training, the authors concluded.

But by the end of the eight-year project, “mindfulness is already embedded in a lot of schools, and there are already organizations making money from selling this program to schools,” said Dr. Foulkes, who had assisted on the study as a postdoctoral research associate. “And it’s very difficult to get the scientific message out there.”

Why, one might ask, would a mental health program do harm?

Researchers in the study speculated that the training programs “bring awareness to upsetting thoughts,” encouraging students to sit with darker feelings, but without providing solutions, especially for societal problems like racism or poverty. They also found that the students didn’t enjoy the sessions and didn’t practice at home.

Another explanation is that mindfulness training could encourage “co-rumination,” the kind of long, unresolved group discussion that churns up problems without finding solutions.

As the MYRIAD results were being analyzed, Dr. Andrews led an evaluation of Climate Schools, an Australian intervention based on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, in which students observed cartoon characters navigating mental health concerns and then answered questions about practices to improve mental health.

Here, too, he found negative effects. Students who had taken the course reported higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms six months and 12 months later.

Co-rumination appears to be higher in girls, who tend to come into the program more distressed, as well as more attuned to their friends, he said. “It might be,” he said, “that they kind of get together and make things a little bit worse for each other.”

Dr. Andrews, a Wellcome Trust research fellow, has since joined an effort to improve Climate Schools by addressing negative effects. And he has concluded that schools should slow down until “we know the evidence base a bit more.” Sometimes, he said, “doing nothing is better than doing something.”

The awareness paradox

One problem with mental health awareness, some research suggests, is that it may not help to put a label to your symptoms.

Isaac Ahuvia, a doctoral candidate at Stony Brook University, recently tested this in a study of 1,423 college students . Twenty-two percent “self-labeled” as having depression, telling researchers “I am depressed” or “I have depression,” but 39 percent met the diagnostic criteria for depression.

He found that the students who self-labeled felt that they had less control over depression and were more likely to catastrophize and less likely to respond to distress by putting their difficulties in perspective, compared with peers who had similar depression symptoms.

Jessica L. Schleider, a co-author of the self-labeling study, said this was no surprise. People who self-label “appear to be viewing depression as a biological inevitability,” she said. “People who don’t view emotions as malleable, view them as set and stuck and uncontrollable, tend to cope less well because they don’t see a point to trying.”

But Dr. Schleider, an associate professor of medical social sciences at Northwestern University and the director of the university’s Lab for Scalable Mental Health, pushed back on the prevalence inflation hypothesis. She disagreed with the claim that students are overdiagnosing themselves, noting that Mr. Ahuvia’s findings suggest otherwise.

Awareness campaigns are bound to have multiple effects, helping some students and not others. And ultimately, she argued, the priority for public health should be reaching young people in the most distress.

“The urgency of the mental health crisis is so clear,” she said. “In the partnerships that I have, the emphasis is on the kids truly struggling right now who have nothing — we need to help them — more so than a possible risk for a subset of kids who aren’t really struggling.”

Maybe, she said, we need to look beyond the “universal, school-assembly-style approach,” to targeted, light-touch interventions, which research has shown can be effective at decreasing anxiety and conduct disorders, especially in younger children.

“There is a risk of throwing the baby out with the bathwater,” Dr. Schleider said. “The response can’t be ‘Forget all of it.’ It should be ‘What about this intervention was unhelpful?’”

Other researchers echoed her concern, pointing to studies that show that on average, students benefit from social and emotional learning courses.

One of the largest, a 2023 meta-analysis of 252 classroom programs in 53 countries, found that students who participated performed better academically, displayed better social skills and had lower levels of emotional distress or behavioral problems. In that context, negative effects in a handful of trials appear modest, the researchers said.

“We clearly have not figured out how to do them yet, but I can’t imagine any population-based intervention that the field got right the first time,” said Dr. Andrew J. Gerber, the president and medical director of Silver Hill Hospital and a practicing child and adolescent psychiatrist.

“Really, if you think about almost everything we do in schools, we don’t have great evidence for it working,” he added. “That doesn’t mean we don’t do it. It just means that we’re constantly thinking about ways to improve it.”

‘We want everyone to have it’

These debates are taking place a long way away from classrooms, where mental health curriculums are increasingly commonplace.

Allyson Kangisser, a counselor at Woodsdale Elementary School in Wheeling, W.Va., said the focus in her school is on basic coping skills. In the early grades, students are asked, “What things can you do to take care of yourself when you’re having big feelings?”

Starting in third grade, they take on more complex material, such as watching cartoon characters to distinguish transient stress from chronic conditions like depression. “We’re not trying to have them diagnose themselves,” Ms. Kangisser said. “We are saying, what do you feel — this one? Or this one?”

At the school’s sixth annual mental health fair last month, Woodsdale students walked through a giant inflatable brain, its lobes neatly labeled. They did yoga stretches and talked about regulating their emotions. Ms. Kangisser said the event is valuable precisely because it is universal, so troubled children are not singled out.

“The mental health fair, everybody does it,” she said. “It’s not ‘You need it, and you don’t.’ We want everyone to have it, because you just never know.”

By the time the students reach college, they will have absorbed enormous amounts of information about mental health — from school, but also from social media and from one another.

Dr. Jessica Gold, chief wellness officer for the University of Tennessee system, said the college students she sees are recognizably different — more comfortable speaking about their emotions and more willing to be vulnerable. They also overuse diagnostic terms and have the self-assurance to question a psychiatrist’s judgment.

“It’s sort of a double-edged sword,” she said. “We want people to talk about this more, but we don’t want that to lead to overdiagnosis or incorrect diagnosis or overtreatment. We want it to lead to normalizing of having feelings.”

Lucy Kim, a Yale senior who has lobbied for better mental health support on campus, described the prevalence inflation hypothesis as “disheartening, dismissive and potentially dangerous,” providing another way to discount the experiences of young people.

“As a college student, I see a generation of young people around me impacted by a depth and breadth of loneliness, exhaustion and disillusionment suggestive of a malaise that goes deeper than the general vicissitudes of life,” said Ms. Kim, 23.

Overdiagnosis does happen, she said, and so does glorification of mental health disorders. But stigma and barriers to treatment remain the bigger problem. “I can confidently say I have never heard anyone respond to disclosures of depression with ‘That’s so cool, I wish I had that, too,’” she said.

Ellen Barry is a reporter covering mental health for The Times. More about Ellen Barry

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