Ramos 1

Caleb Ramos

Professor Simon Workman

ENG 1201

29 February 2020

Factors That Affect Academic Performance in High School

Some people say that education is the greatest investment you can make towards your

future. It sets you up for success, trains your brain, and teaches you valuable life lessons during

the process. Though school is made available to everyone, not all students thrive in the

classroom. A high school student's academic performance can be affected by the health of three

overarching areas of life: physical health, emotional health, and psychological health. When

these three flourish, the student is more likely to perform well in the class but if one or more of

them is affected by an incident, such as trauma, it can cause a disturbance in the students ability

to learn and perform well.

Our society functions with an emphasis on success in the classroom. Jobs require degrees

and specialists trained in their specific areas of work. Education is the only ticket there is to

obtain the degrees you need to be trained and Schooling has been made available to every person

of age, however, there seems to be plenty of students who seem to struggle more than others in

the classroom. Each student is an individual. They grow up in environments and have had

experiences that differ from their peers. Their upbringing, their homelife, their social

interactions, etcetera are all factors that affect their performance as a student.

Schooling, education, and the pressures of succeeding in the classroom are heavily

weighing on the students' health. Although their studies are most important, students also feel the

need to overload their schedules with extracurriculars, community service, and school clubs to
 Ramos 2

give themselves a better chance at getting into a good school. The added stress and pressure on

these students can take a physical toll on the students body and the busier their schedules, the

less time students have to take care of themselves. Lack of sleep and poor nutrition are two

common problems students face while being school.

Whether students are irresponsibly staying up late to play video games, or just simply

have tight schedules that do not permit them to get to bed early, their lack of sleep plays a greater

role in their academic performance than what they might realize. A 2001 study by William E

Kelly, Kathryn E Kell, and Robert C Clanton revealed that students who slept for 9 hours or

more in a single time period, had much higher GPAs than those who slept, in the same time

period, for less than 6 hours. These students who lacked sleep also showed signs of anxiety, loss

of creativity, and were more prone to hallucinations. If students were to be able to get to sleep

earlier and stay asleep for longer, their learning capabilities could be further unrestricted, even if

they were required to be at school early in the morning. It is important for High Schoolers to get

the correct amount of sleep their bodies and minds need to grow and learn.

Maybe a student is going to bed at a reasonable time, yet still is having a hard time

focusing and staying awake during class. This could be because of the way their body is

sleeping. The sleep cycle and the quality thereof determines how rested someone might feel

throughout the day. The sleep cycle consists of two types of sleep, non-REM (rapid eye

movement) sleep and REM sleep which constantly cycle back and forth through the night.

Non-REM has three stages of sleep. Stage one consists of the changeover from sleep to

waking up. During this stage, brain waves, heart beat, eye movements, and breathing begin to

slow from its normal wakeful activity. Stage two is the light sleep before entering into deep

sleep. Muscles, heart rate, and breathing relax further and your brain activity decreases more.
 Ramos 3

Stage three is the deep sleep your body needs in order to feel rested in the morning. Breathing,

heart rate, and muscles are at its lowest level of activity and it is difficult to be awakened. About

90 minutes after falling asleep, REM sleep will occur. Rapid eye movement sleep is when the

eyes dart back and forth under its eyelid and the brain activity begins to pick up. Most dreams

occur during this period of rest but it can also occur during non-REM as well.

The body needs to be able to reach all these levels of sleep each night, in order to feel

rested in the morning. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke,

teens need approximately nine and a half hours of sleep each night for maximum brain

development and memory consolidation. Therefore, if a student were to have been interrupted

during an important sleep stage or not gotten enough sleep, they would have a harder time

functioning during the day and retaining information that they learn. It is important for students

to get to bed at a reasonable hour and give their bodies enough time to fully recoup from the day

before but unfortunately, according to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, teens get roughly seven

and a half hours of sleep a night.

A student can improve their sleeping habits by following certain guidelines. Teenagers

should stick to a nightly sleep routine of going to sleep at the same time and waking up at the

same time every morning. The student should allow the correct amount of time to sleep in

between falling asleep and waking up. They should also avoid oversleeping on weekends.

Oversleeping can cause complications with getting back into your sleep schedule when Monday

rolls around. Another way they can improve their sleeping habits and get good rest is by taking

small afternoon naps. These should be between fifteen and twenty minutes and can potentially be

very beneficial to the students health. Lastly, the body’s intake can either be detrimental or
 Ramos 4

beneficial to the quality of sleep it gets. A student should stay away from smoking, caffeine,

drugs, and alcohol because these all negatively impact sleep.

Another health factor that impacts the body is nutrition. Students who do not get their

healthy intake of nutrients and vitamins can have troubles in the classroom. Healthy-Food-

Choices-In-Schools, an organization whose mission is to bring awareness and change to the

school systems meal plan, writes that “nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity

among school-aged children. For example, iron deficiency, even in early stages, can decrease

dopamine transmission, thus negatively impacting cognition. Deficiencies in other vitamins and

minerals, specifically thiamine, vitamin E, vitamin B, iodine, and zinc, are shown to inhibit

cognitive abilities and mental concentration. Additionally, amino acid and carbohydrate

supplementation can improve perception, intuition, and reasoning. There are also a number of

studies showing that improvements in nutrient intake can influence the cognitive ability and

intelligence levels of school-aged children.” According to the organization, diets and nutrition

play a key role in students ability to learn and grow. If the physical dietary needs of the body

remain unmet the student may not be able to perform to their best ability in their studies and

schoolwork. Therefore, it is important for the students to eat healthy and keep their bodies in

well being.

Along with physical impacts, students' growth in the classroom can also be immensely

affected by their emotional health. It can only take a break up or falling out with a friend to bring

emotional chaos to a student. Severe incidents that cause emotional instability include a harsh

and abusive homelife, traumatic experiences, or the death of a friend or family member. These

unfortunate circumstances disrupt the chemicals in the body, such as acetylcholine, histamine,

adrenaline, cortisol, and serotonin that promote healthy living and allow growth in the classroom.
 Ramos 5

Students who are affected by emotional trauma are more likely to struggle in class. They may

lose focus, will to learn, and desire to be at school.

Mental health has been an increasing issue in High Schools. Students who suffer from

abuse and trauma show significant differences in testing scores than that of students who don’t.

In order to show this, the University of Michigan and the State of Michigan partnered to shed

light into the problem of a students maltreatment at home and their performance at school. Test

scores and school records from the Department of Education were matched with maltreatment

information from the Department of Health and Human Services and what they found was

significant. They held a case study with 732,828 students whose data was compared to their

peers.

The study revealed five major findings. The first was that eighteen percent of these

students were investigated by Child Protective Services. Second, students who qualify for free or

reduced lunch are more likely to be investigated. Thirdly, maltreatment has far greater effects on

academic performance than race, neighborhood, or other demographics. Second to last they

found that referral for investigation rates drastically change from school to school, even if it is in

the same district. It is not uncommon for one third of a school's students to be investigated.

Finally, there can be some big exceptions to the pattern that impoverished schools have more

maltreatment investigations.

These findings show us that there are many students who suffer from maltreatment,

trauma, and abusive homes. The study shows out of the students who have not been investigated

for maltreatment, close to 65 percent of them were proficient on a reading exam, while out of the

students who were investigated at least once, only 53 percent of them were proficient. Therefore

showing that suffering students are less likely to perform well in the classroom.
 Ramos 6

A student can protect their mental health by consulting a trusted adult, guidance

counselor, or therapist. If it is necessary, therapy dogs are an option. Professionals say that

having something or someone you care about can assist the student suffering. Anyone who has

experienced trauma, or resides in an abusive home should speak to someone of authority for the

certain situation.

A students’ struggles with physical and emotional health can really affect their

performance in school, but there can also be potential psychological risks opposing the student

and their ability to grow in a learning environment. Through undergoing sleep deprivation,

malnutrition, traumatic experiences, and their upbringing, students are very likely to develop one

or more mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression and increased stress levels. Though these

have the ability to fully impact the students health in the classroom, mental illness also holds the

capability to undermine the students ability to learn. Author Shivangi Zavi, from Psychology

Discussion, says that in order for a student with a mental illness to thrive in a classroom, they

must feel a sense of peace and absence of conflict. Without this criteria, they won’t have the

ability to focus on anything except the stress and pressure they feel weighing on them.

Psychological problems are becoming increasingly more common. There are more

students who are feeling lonely, depressed, anxious, and even suicidal than there has been before.

Suicide Prevention Resource Center states that, “Mental health problems can affect a student's

energy level, concentration, dependability, mental ability, and optimism, hindering

performance.” and “depression is associated with lower grade point averages, and co-occurring

depression and anxiety can increase this association. Depression has also been linked to dropping

out of school.” This explains why mental health can affect the students ability to learn. Students

who are suffering from anxiety and depression often feel unable and too overwhelmed to
 Ramos 7

complete work. They lose desire to go to school, interact with others, do schoolwork and let

alone get out of bed.

Depression, among other things, is directly related to a student's ability to learn. Studies

show that people diagnosed with depression also have brain inflammation. Brain inflammation

can potentially worsen the mental illness, interrupt neurotransmitters that affect mood, and

greatly disrupt learning and memory. It is important for students to have trusted guidance

counselors and adults who can accompany them and encourage them through their battle with

these mental illnesses.

Students are also prone to feeling stressed. School work and the worries of life can be

daunting but in reality, stress itself isn't bad. It can push people to work harder. Friendly

competition can increase students studying and grades because of drive. However, long term

stress is what people need to worry about. Once stress is constant, worrisome, and mental

breakdowns occur more than getting things accomplished, you should start to take action. In this

case scenario, stress is unhealthy. Being aware of your stress is very important. Once long-term

stress is developed, it can bring about or encourage pre existing mental illnesses.

To make sure everyday stress doesn’t turn into long-term, harmful stress, students can do

many things. Sharing all types of stress with peers, mentors, and therapists can help students

cope with stress and monitor it. Setting goals and creating daily lists to accomplish tasks, while

setting priorities can help remove stress in certain areas of their life. Another very important way

to deal with stress is allowing personal time to relax and have fun.

Some may say that a student's success is not dependent on the matter of physical,

emotional, and psychological health but only on the amount of effort put into their studies.

EduNova, an organization created to help students improve their grades, states, “Effective study
 Ramos 8

habits leads to understanding the material and in turn doing better on tests.” EduNova’s program

has improved students' GPAs by 21 percent on average which supports the argument that

studying diligently and working hard will greatly improve performance. However, it certainly is

not capable of overcoming any instance that compromises the brain's ability to learn and retain

information. Instances such as sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, other mental illnesses and

the trauma of abusive home lives or scarring experiences.

Though work ethic is of great importance, it is not everything that matters. If a runner ran

the hardest in a race with a weight on his shoulders he would not be able to run as far or as fast

as one who had no weight. So it is with students in the classroom. A student who studied for a

test more than his peers but only got 2 hours of sleep the night before is walking into that test

with a significant disadvantage. Though hard work certainly is capable of minimizing the

severity of physical, emotional, or psychological issues, it is not able to completely rid the body

of its problems. Taking good care of yourself while being dedicated to your studies is what

maximizes a students academic performance.

Students' performances are affected by their decisions, environments, and genetics which

invite the issues of physical, emotional, and psychological health. When the three of these

aspects are at unhealthy levels, it makes learning and growing more difficult for the student.

Many high schoolers have big dreams and high expectations they put on themselves and it is

vital for the body to function properly in order for those students to achieve their goals. Students

should be taking the necessary actions to remain in good standard. It is important for students to

strive to remain healthy, seek help, take care of yourself, and make good choices.
 Ramos 9

Work Cited

“5 Things You Should Know About Stress.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services,

www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml.

“Common Problems for Students.” Common Problems for Students - Purdue University

Fort Wayne, www.pfw.edu/offices/family-outreach/for-parents-from-

sap/commonproblemsforstudents.html.

“How to Look after Your Mental Health.” Mental Health Foundation, 20 June 2019,

www.mentalhealth.org.uk/publications/how-to-mental-health.

Jacob, Brian A., and Joseph Ryan. “How Life Outside of a School Affects Student

Performance in School.” Brookings, Brookings, 10 Apr. 2018,

www.brookings.edu/research/how-life-outside-of-a-school-affects-student-performance-

in-school/.

Just, David. “3 Ways Nutrition Influences Student Learning Potential and School

Performance.” Healthy Food Choices in Schools, 13 June 2019, healthy-food-choices-in-

schools.extension.org/3-ways-nutrition-influences-student-learning-potential-and-school-

performance/.

Ratliff, Sarah. “How To Get Better Grades: How To Improve Your Grades.” EduNova, 4

Feb. 2013, www.edu-nova.com/articles/get-better-grades/.

Segaren, Sharuna. “The Impact of Sleep on Academic Performance.” Study International,

9 Oct. 2019, www.studyinternational.com/news/the-impact-of-sleep-on-academic-

performance/.
 Ramos 10

Zave, Shivangi. “Factors Influencing Learning: Education.” Psychology Discussion -

Discuss Anything About Psychology, 5 Nov. 2016,

www.psychologydiscussion.net/learning/learning-theory/factors-influencing-learning-

education/2531.