Education is a billion dollar industry, and for good reason. It could be argued that it is the deciding factor in an individuals life that often directly effects their future and success. Therefore, it is not surprising that an exponential amount of time, money, and thought are put into the field of education and the decisions that come with it. Most people want to succeed and get the most out of their educational experience. Parents, teachers, and students are often very invested in the education of themselves or others. Being invested is essential because of the many problems and obstacles facing those trying to give or receive an education and get the very most out of it. As a biology major, I am always interested in the health viewpoint or scientific side of things. The way the body and mind works is captivating. It is commonly known that we use our brains to learn and our brain is part of our body. Therefore, when something influences  our mind or body, our education can be directly affected. Specifically, sleep deprivation, depression, and stress are all things I have experienced, or people close to me have experienced that affected the ability to learn, and therefore education. These three things occur in the lives of many people. Although I have experienced numerous detrimental consequences to my educational experience from these things as well as others I know, some may not think these issues are all that big of a deal. Students struggle and the ways to cope may be nonexistent or lacking in effectiveness. I would like to explore this topic more extensively, so my research question is posed as “How does depression, sleep deprivation, and stress affect students learning and overall education and what are some solutions to these obstacles if they exist?”

My search for sources and info began with a small article concerning sleep deprivation. This piece by Becky Munson, a registered nurse and President of the National Association of School Nurses for the Deaf,  called “About Sleep Deprivation” was the first source I examined. While it is short, sweet, and to the point, it gives a number of interesting facts and statistics about the topic of sleep deprivation. Also, it recognizes some of the myths concerning this topic people sometimes believe. Myths mentioned included sleep deprivation being a minor issue or that it isn’t much of a problem. Some also think that sleep is only resting the body. These common misunderstandings were quickly refuted. The importance of sleep was mentioned as it is serves many purposes for the body including renewing tissues, releasing growth hormones, and processing and organizing new information during this critical time . The article recognized many Americans are sleep deprived. This can directly affect the way the body and mind function. According to the article, sleep deprived students could lose significant portions of what they studied. They also may be more inclined to make poor decisions and lack concentration.

Munson compiled a helpful piece that included statistics and info I found helpful and pertinent to my topic. The information given cemented my belief that sleep deprivation really does affect a student’s mind and body in a negative way. It is not an issue to be overlooked. However, this article did not explore any ways to encourage students to get more sleep or raise awareness about this issue. I may need to discuss this more in my research paper.

“Stress Effects on Multiple Memory System Interactions” by Deborah Ness and Pasquale Calabrese was the second source I looked into. Ness and Calabrese are respected faculty members of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Platform Psychiatry and Psychology. In this research manuscript, stress effects on multiple memory systems are studied. An in depth look at the effects of stressors on the mind and how it decides to handle the situation under pressure is provided in this piece. The research explains that stress and emotional arousal often effect memory. The brain regions that deal with stress are mentioned as critical for memory processes.

I was able to glean a great scientific definition of stress which I think could be useful in my research paper. Stress, as defined in this paper, “Refers to an organism’s physiological and psychological reaction triggered by an external or internal stressor, such as an environmental condition or psychological stimulus. It is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances” (Ness). This research also mentions some helpful notes about stress affecting the critical memory process. It explained that the regions of the brain that deal with stress response are also involved with memory. I found this to be a worthwhile piece of information that strengthened my belief of stress being an important factor to consider and deal with in a students education. Again, I need to brainstorm some ideas of how students and educators may be able to combat or cope with stress to limit its negative effects on education.

Thirdly, I analyzed “Aggressiveness, Depression and Academic Achievement of Students.” by Dušan Ranđelović as my next research source. Ranđelović is a faculty member of the University of Pristina Department of Psychology.   A study of the effects of aggressiveness and depression on the academic achievement of students was explained in this paper. The relationship between these specific aspects of mental heath and academic achievement was the focus of this research. Also, the possibility of predicting academic achievement based on aggressiveness and depression is another focus of this paper. The results concluded that there is a distinct negative correlation between academic achievement and these mental health issues. This paper also distinguished the importance of mental health.

Further, I see this research paper as being useful in my own paper due to the results of this research being clear regarding the effects of depression on academic achievement. The negative correlations between depression and academic achievement are explained. It was continuously clear to me that depression is an important issue that needs to be addressed. There were helpful statistics listed as well that I may incorporate into my research and further showed that depression influences students in a negative way. One example from this research explains that studies showed “Depression has a negative effect on results achieved in exams” (Ranđelović ). The prominence of depression among students shows that there needs to be solutions found to help students.

My next source, “Sources of Stress and Coping in American College Students Who Have Been Diagnosed with Depression” by Pamela Aselton, director of the graduate program in nursing at Saint Joseph College, helped me explore more about depression in students. This journal article examined depression in students, causes of this depression, and coping mechanisms to deal with their depression. The article recognized depression as the primary cause of impaired academic performance. Sources of stress were given as well as ways students found helpful to cope with the depression they experienced. Results showed that students were commonly stressed out by problems with family and academics, while common coping mechanisms included talk therapy, music, journaling, and physical activity.

I found this article helpful and the study quite informative. I plan to incorporate some of these methods of coping into my research of how to better help students with their depression. This paper also recognized that stress has been identified as the primary cause of impaired academic performance. This furthered my belief that depression as well as stress are big problems that need to be addressed. It also listed some of these coping mechanisms that were found helpful students.

Finally, “Melancholy in the Millennium: A Study of Depression among Adolescents with and without Learning Disabilities.” by Lori Ann Navarrete of Kansas State University, was the last source I considered. This research study article examined depression among students with and without learning abilities. Depression was identified as a significant problem and a recent focus of academic and mental health studies. Listed within the article are the four types of depression that may be experienced which are normal depression, major depression disorder, dysthymia, and bipolar depression. The results of the study concluded that there is no significant difference between the prevalence of depression in students with learning disabilities and students without. It is also concluded that an increased awareness of depression in students is necessary.

I found this article to be helpful in solidifying my argument that depression is a serious issue that can seriously affect a student’s academic success. Specifically, it gave examples that may be helpful for educators and students to combat depression such as being able to identify depressive symptoms, monitoring those symptoms, implementing psychoeducational strategies developed to decrease negative cognitions and emotions into curriculum, as well as others. Also, it mentioned that raising awareness of this topic is important which was another thing I wanted to consider for options to help. This may be a beneficial asset to my research.

In conclusion, my exploratory essay strengthened my original belief that stress, sleep deprivation, and depression are often factors that impair students academic success and well being. I examined five sources that helped me to reach that conclusion. The info, statistics, and viewpoints offered from these credible peer-reviewed articles supported my original hypothesis and furthered my knowledge about the topics. I was able to establish  that the issues of sleep deprivation, stress, and depression are real and are affecting education. I will need to explore and compile ways to combat these issues effectively.

 

Works Cited

Aselton, Pamela. “Sources of Stress and Coping in American College Students Who Have Been Diagnosed with Depression.” Journal of Child & Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, vol. 25, no. 3, Aug. 2012, pp. 119-123. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/j.1744-6171.2012.00341.x.

Munson, Becky Lien. “About Sleep Deprivation.” Nursing, vol. 30, no. 7, July 2000, p. 77. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4070654&site=ehost-live.

Navarrete, Lori Ann. “Melancholy in the Millennium: A Study of Depression among Adolescents with and without Learning Disabilities.” The High School Journal, vol. 82, no. 3, 1999, pp. 137–149., www.jstor.org/stable/40364417.

Ness, Deborah and Pasquale Calabrese. “Stress Effects on Multiple Memory System Interactions.” Neural Plasticity, vol. 2015, 27 Dec. 2015, pp. 1-20. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1155/2016/4932128.

Ranđelović, Dušan, et al. “Aggressiveness, Depression and Academic Achievement of Students.” [“АГРЕСИВНОСТ, ДЕПРЕСИВНОСТ И АКАДЕМСКО ПОСТИГНУЋЕ СТУДЕНАТА”]. TEME: Casopis Za Društvene Nauke, vol. 39, no. 3, July 2015, pp. 701-714. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=113196966&site=ehost-live.