[Name] Kong Xhiang Lynn

[Id] 0317730

[Module] English 1

[Session] Foundation in Natural and Built Environment, February, 2014

Pre-writing

Effects of young people having little leisure time and are under a lot of pressure

Health issue

Sleep deprived

-too stress to sleep-insomnia

Cannot concentrate in class

-Need to spend more time in revision

Heart disease

-high heart rate-causes stroke

No social life

Weak bond between friends and family

-always hide in the room studying

-bring meal in the room to save time

Antisocial

-reject invitation from friends

-loses friend

Discouragement

Give up on studies

-admit failure-lose interest in studies

Cheat in examinations

-express way to good result

-sneak textbook and notebook in

Nowadays, many adolescent from all around the world are suffering from

academic pressure due to the fierce competition in the society. Since the key to

success lies under hard work, teenagers tend to spend more time on their studies by

sacrificing their leisure time in order to achieve good result. Some are under a great

deal of stress due to peer pressure, family pressure and the competitive environment

these days. As the stress accumulates, the student will be impacted in many ways,

such as, health issues, loss of social life, and discouragement.

Firstly, health issue is one of the main effect when one is under a lot of

pressure due to the minimum leisure time. Based on Powell K. (2013) “On the

student survey 73.51% of students said that stress made them lose sleep, and 60%

of students said that they were not getting adequate sleep every night”. This will

cause students to have short concentration span and memory loss which will lead to

poorer academic performance. Students will then have to spend more time for

revision as they are not able to grasp the basic of the topic. In result, students have

to stay up late at night in order to cover up the topic and also to finish up their school

works and assignments. Stress is also dangerous to the heart, as stress hormones

speed up our heart rate, it constrict our blood vessel. If this continues, the blood

pressure will increase and this will cause the person to be more prone to

cardiovascular disease, such as stroke. Some students are also found to have

symptoms such as headache, chest pain and also upset stomach.

Next, less engagement in extracurricular activities and spending lesser time

with friends and family is also another effect of lack of leisure time in student due to

academic stress. The students will start to become an anti-social person as they are

always staying inside their room doing revision and supplementary exercises in order

to pass their examinations with flying colours. As time passes, the student might lose

their friends as the bond between them becomes weaker. The bond between the

families will weaken too as the student stop spending time with them. Therefore, the

only time the student ever sat together with the family is during meal time. But in

worse scenarios, some students even bring their meals into their room in order to

save time as they find spending 15 or 30 minutes of time sitting at the dining table

dining is time consuming.

Lastly, the students will also tend to become demotivated due to the heavy

load of stress. According to Powell, K. (2013) “63 percent of the students said that

when faced with academic stress they procrastinate, 47 percent said that they didn’t

do as well as they could in school, and 40 percent responded by saying that they

didn’t enjoy learning”. As students become less motivated, their academic

performance will also be affected. Some students will find ways to get good results

which involves little hard work such as picking up cheating behaviours. They will use

all sorts of tricks to sneak in their textbooks or notebooks into the exam hall, doesn’t

matter if it is a top student or poor student, in order to get good results to impress

their parents and peers. As Zhou Shun (1988, p.344) says “If cheating can make

your classmates like you better and your parents love you, why not do it? We are just

trying to prove our worth”.

In a nutshell, the stress and lack of leisure time can affect the young people in

their health, social life and also demotivate them. Young people should learn how to

balance their life between work and leisure. They should start involving themselves

in extracurricular activities or travelling, this will not only help them to relieve stress

but also broaden their horizons by gaining life experiences. By relieving stress, the

young people will then be able to lead a healthier life such as lowering the risk of

getting heart diseases caused by stress.

References:

1. Burke. (2011). Stress on High school students: What causes stress?

[Internet]. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from

http://www.eastauroraschools.org/cms/lib/NY19000901/Centricity/Domai

n/353/0531.pdf

2. Healthline Editorial Team. (2010). Side effects of stress. [Internet]. Retrieved

March 23, 2014 from http://www.healthline.com/health/stress-side-

effects#1

3. Jing, L., Chen Q. (1995). Academic pressure and impact on students’

development in China. [Internet]. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from

http://mje.mcgill.ca/article/viewFile/8237/6165

4. Powell K. (2013).Stressed and Obsessed Part 5: The effects of stress on

student life. [Internet]. Retrieved March 23, 2014 from

http://www.uni.illinois.edu/og/features/2013/05/stressed-and-obsessed-

part-5-effe

5. Zhou Shun. (1988).The distorted exam floor. Bao Gao Wen She [Literary

Report], 3,242-351.