Can Homework Lead to Depression?

One of the major arguments of people against homework is the fact that is causes stress leading to depression and other related health issues. Is this true?

Well, there is enough evidence that overworking can cause stress and depression. Can the same be said of night homework? According to Sierra’s Homework Policy, kids at the elementary level should not receive more than 10 minutes of homework a day. They are also not supposed to do more than minutes of assignment per term. On the other hand, students at the high school level can have up to 2 hours of work. Let’s not forget that these students already spend about 8 hours in schools, which one-third of the day.

In essence, the approved timeframe of homework cannot result in depression. However, some teachers violate these guidelines to assign students with loads of long hour home tasks. Also, research shows that spending long hours on homework deprives kids of undertaking other critical social activities and other life skills needed for their development.

If educators don’t stick to standards and continue to assign long hours of homework, students may have no option but to continue to ignore other life skills or engage in hobbies.

Research by the Harvard Health School that sampled the views of students on homework, most of the respondents said they experience symptoms of stress, including weight loss, sleeplessness, exhaustion, and headaches. Two-thirds of the students also admitted to drug and alcohol use to manage their stress.

If homework can lead to drug use, then it leaves much to be desired. That is not to devalue its contribution to education and child development.

How to defeat adverse effects homework:

Doing group work

One way to reduce the dangers homework poses to students is to engage in group work. When a sociology assignment is given, friends can come together to solve it. This can reduce the burden and stress of having to do it alone. Also, it can make students great team members during their careers.

Break homework down

When you have loads of work do after class, break them down into the level of importance and less critical. Do the most important ones first and postponed the others to another time. Regarding homework, you can solve difficult questions first before attempting easy ones.

Conclusion

Homework is beneficial in many ways, but let’s not lose sight of the dangers it poses to students. School administrations can do more to help children avoid these dangers, including forcing teachers to abide by the standards of assigning home tasks. Also, they can practice personalized homework than just assigning generic ones.