Have you ever told your Mom like, ‘oh, I have a terrible headache, I can’t do my homework’? Did you really feel that way? Even if you sometimes lie about health problems to eschew doing your assignments, it doesn’t mean that you won’t have them in near future. It’s no longer a myth about students suffering physically while doing homework. But here we come to teach you what the major dangers are and how to manage studying process to reduce harm for your health.
Recent study reveals clear connection between homework overloads and different health disorders, such as headaches, irritability, sleep disorders, depression, weight-loss, etc. (check this link for more details). Although often students’ unwillingness to do assignments is caused by laziness, friends hangouts, social network addiction and stuff, we want to warn you against real health problems which can occur because of homework overloads. It literally can make you terribly sick, so get prepared!
Give your eyes time to rest
The first homework-caused problem to mention is eye vision overloads, as doing homework often requires not only lots of reading, but also sitting in front of the computer. Let’s see. Early at morning you go to classes, that’s 4 to 5 hours, then goes lunch and after that you either have more classes, or head for home and do your lots of homework. Your eyes are wide open all day (well, if you don’t get naps during lectures) and get tired at the end. Continuous overwork can cause vision deterioration. What can be done about that?
First of all, try to reduce your daily screen time. Yep, you hear me! According to the statistics, college students in US spend 8 to 10 hours per day looking at their smartphones only (females lead). That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? That’s more than a half of your day actually. Also, after classes take a short break before starting with homework. Half an hour will do, giving you time to eat which is also important. If you can’t limit time, it would be also beneficial for your eyes if you stay away from the screen and do some exercises. Just move your eyes in the following directions:
Move!
Probably, everyone of you has heard of different postural disorders caused by insufficient physical activity and long hours behind the desk. Is scoliosis sound familiar to you? Yet, that’s not all. You can end up having RSI (which is Repetitive Strain Injury) if you use smartphones or computer mouse too much. This RSI thing stands for injury obtained from repetitive tasks. Thus, scrolling for hours is not a way to go, now you know. If you need to do a lot of homework using computer or you have a huge assignment requiring over 4 hours of constant scrolling, typing and mouse use, split it. Give your fingers a rest and find how to train them, straighten your back, have a walk or even go for a run. Moreover, constant sitting causes problem with your blood circulation leading to blood clots. So, if no time to exercise properly, do at least 10 sit-ups each hour.
Watch your sleep
Homework overloads, tons of assignments due tomorrow, test coming in few days.. And you decide to take an allnighter. If there’s no other way, that may work. And again, and again. However, don’t make it your routine, as doing anything in the last minute reduces not only your chance to succeed and your grade, but also your future qualification as a specialist, as knowledge obtained that way is short to stay and fast to go. Also, skipping sleep may cause reduce of attention, headaches, depression.
Thus, at the end of all-nightering semester you can become a stressed depressed nervous wreck. Admit a time-planning strategy as soon as possible. Actually, it’s never too late to start managing time properly. You can use calender and reminders in your smartphone to track deadlines and work loads.
Perfect homework time
However, there’s no clear answer yet on whether homework should be banned and cancelled or not. Education system in US and most European countries, as well as around the world, is based on the concept of homework and, while this paradigm prevails (with the exception of some countries like Finland), the only way to succeed is to play by its rules. So, how to tell when it’s really “too much”? Researches, after analyzing data on over 4000 students from California, came up with the following conclusion: the perfect time period of doing homework is up to two hours per day in high school and no more over one and half an hour in middle school.
Do as little as necessary
Learn to prioritize between assignments. As plenty studies revealed, homework amounts are often going over the top (compare your usual homework time with ideal amount mentioned above). So stop trying to do it all. Check your calender and do urgent tasks first, do not postpone unpleasant assignments to the last minute. Use compressed info from your notes instead of full-sized paragraphs. Split tasks between group of friends and share results later.
Ask for help
Continuous failures and low grades can turn everyone against homework, classes, and stuff. Your task is to not get used to it. Ask your tutor, classmates or friends for help if you need or contact us. Do not leave all unclear stuff till finals week. Start to gradually master troubling subject and the result won’t make you wait long. Instead of sitting over homework and cracking your head, get it done quickly and you won’t be stressed or depressed because of it.
