"The Dangers of Long School Hours: How Prolonged Education Impacts Children's Health and Happiness"​ (2024)

FAQs

What are the negative effects of long school hours? ›

With such long hours, students are not getting the proper amount of physical activity and exercise. This can lead to a variety of health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and other physical ailments. Finally, long school hours can also lead to a feeling of isolation and loneliness for students.

Enhanced Focus: Shorter school days can lead to increased focus during class. Students may find it easier to pay attention and engage in lessons without the mental fatigue associated with long school days. This could in turn improve their overall academic performance.

Although the literature is small, there appears to be a consistent link between later school start times and greater sleep duration [1], and limited evidence that later school start time might be associated with better mental health, particularly lower levels of depressive symptoms.

Balancing Efficiency and Well-Being: Acknowledge that after 7-9 hours in school, children, like adults, want to unwind at home. This mindful consideration can help them avoid reaching a state of reduced productivity. Maximize Family Time: Aim for a 7-hour school day, with a maximum of 9 hours if necessary.

An extra year of education led to a lower likelihood of reporting any symptoms related to depression (11.3%) and anxiety (9.8%). More educated people also suffered less severe symptoms – depression (6.1%) and anxiety (5.6%).

Stressors, such as exams, homework overload, and the competitive nature of educational systems, can also impact students' mental health. The pressure to perform well in exams, cope with heavy workloads, and juggle multiple commitments can lead to increased stress and anxiety levels.

An expanded school schedule engages students more fully, and children learn better in a more stimulating environment. By reducing the pressure on the system to cram math and reading and science into too few hours, the new school day opens up the schedule for subjects that students enjoy and teachers like to teach.

Taiwan leads with the longest school day globally, clocking in at 10 hours. This extensive timeframe is indicative of the country's rigorous academic culture. Following closely is China, with students dedicating about 9 hours and 30 minutes to school each day.

Five-day schedules not only allow teachers to build the best relationship with the child and their family, but it ensures they can offer the best data on their continuing progress on developmental goals.

Keeping the same school start time ensures that schedules stay the same. Families often base their schedules around school calendars. Parents go to work based on these times. Daycare Centers, sports practices and even restaurants plan their hours to fit around the school schedule.

Can school make you mentally exhausted? ›

Worrying about grades and the future can leave many overwhelmed, anxious, and depressed, sometimes leading to mental, emotional, and physical fatigue. As a result, they may have difficulties focusing and coping with stress.

Working overtime leads to increased work-related stress that in the long term has significant negative effects on mental health. Employees that work long hours experience anxiety and pressure constantly. Furthermore, overtime work means that people rest and relax less which results in poor sleep quality and fatigue.

A change in school start time could change the schedule of the students, teachers, and parents, which would change many people's sleep schedules. This could cause them to stay up later, with the belief that they could 'sleep in' till a later time.

Longer school days could result in attention deficit and fatigue, making the extra class time ineffective. When students are too tired or mentally exhausted to concentrate, the last hour of the day becomes useless.

Leaving more time for after school activities gives students more time to sleep, leaving them energized and ready to learn the next day. Shorter school days enforce healthier sleep schedules across many adolescents and boosts their ability to focus and learn in classes.

In general, kids have to be at school by 8:45 am. School finishes around 3:15 pm, so they have to be in school for about six and a half hours every day from Monday to Friday. However, most kids also attend after-school clubs, and many also go to juku (cram school) in the evening to do extra studying.

For example, school introduces opportunities for bullying, peer pressure, self-esteem issues, and of course, academic stress. Going to school also causes many children and teens to recognize learning difficulties.

Health Behaviors

People with more education are more likely to learn about health and health risks, improving their literacy and comprehension of what can be complex issues critical to their wellbeing. People who are more educated are more receptive to health education campaigns.

Key takeaways: A new study shows that each additional year of education reduces risk of death by about 2%. The benefits of an 18-year education are comparable to eating enough vegetables in your diet. More education leads to increased resources that can help a person build a healthy lifestyle.

For example, school introduces opportunities for bullying, peer pressure, self-esteem issues, and of course, academic stress. Going to school also causes many children and teens to recognize learning difficulties.

What are the negative effects of being late to school? ›

Being late to school can have various negative impacts on students' academic performance and well-being. Late school start times can lead to inadequate sleep, affecting cognitive performance and grades.

With fewer classes come less credit opportunities for students. With seven classes versus eight, students are limited in the classes they can take and are losing a credit. This situation alone will leave some students facing the problem of not having enough credits to graduate.

However, overstudying can lead to poor sleeping habits, mental exhaustion, and an increase in anxiety or depression.