Homework — a word every college student knows and dreads. Papers, videos, discussion cards, readings and every other variation of homework are what keep students up all hours of the night. All-nighters, early risings and late nights are natural consequences of having to turn in homework by the deadline.
Work outside of the classroom is a tricky topic and one that students and professors tend to disagree on. There are two extremes to this debate — students who want absolutely no homework and professors whose favorite pastime is making sure their students have plenty to do when they are not sitting in the class itself. However, there is a glorious middleground that needs to be recognized and followed.
The first step to achieving a compromise is for students to recognize that there are some benefits to having homework, meaning that they should have some homework for every class they are in. While this may not be what they want to hear, studies conducted by the High School Journal have shown that homework helps students to achieve greater academic success. On average, students that complete out-of-classroom work score higher on tests and get higher final grades in classes. This is because homework gives students more practice with the skill they just learned in class and forces them to figure out study techniques that work for them.
Homework also teaches students various skills that will be useful for their entire lives. They learn how to work independently, manage their time and think critically. They also learn to be accountable for their actions; if the homework is not completed or is done poorly, it hurts their grade.
The second step is slightly more difficult — professors have to realize that too much homework causes those benefits to be minimal in the face of the negative effects. Too much homework inevitably leads to burnout, especially when combined with all of the other activities college students do. Between classes, clubs, jobs and excessive amounts of homework, students have a lot to balance and are sure to exhaust themselves eventually. In order to get everything done, they run around all day then stay up very late to do homework. This system cannot be maintained without both physical and mental exhaustion.
Obviously a lack of sleep leads to poor physical health. Not getting enough sleep can cause numerous problems such as heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity and depression. Although college-aged people are supposed to get a minimum of seven to nine hours of sleep per night, the Harvard Summer School found that over half of college students do not meet the minimum end of that requirement. Those who do get sleep within that range are still at the lower end with 70 to 96% of college students getting less than eight hours of sleep per night.
Poor physical health correlates to poor mental health. According to the U.K. Mental Health Foundation, “Physical health problems significantly increase our risk of developing mental health problems, and vice versa.” This means that college students are likely to develop both physical and mental health issues due to not getting enough sleep because they are staying up to do homework.
There are other mental side effects that do not necessarily correlate to physical health issues. Mental exhaustion, more commonly referred to as burnout, is a thing. It occurs when one does a series of cognitively demanding activities, such as homework, without taking proper care of oneself through things like breaks. When burnout occurs, students lose motivation to do more work. They may not do it altogether, or they may complete the work poorly. This would then reflect in their grades.
Too much homework eradicates all of the known benefits of doing work outside of the classroom. Professors and students need to reach an agreement on what is the proper level of homework that stimulates students while also not exhausting them mentally and physically.