By Lisa Gómez

Here we go with the same twenty-three minutes that we get every day for lunch. It takes you three minutes to walk down the stairs to get to the cafeteria. As always, the same long line takes ten minutes for you to grab your first meal of the day. From those twenty-three minutes now we only have ten minutes left not counting the two minutes I already wasted looking for a clean table, and here I am left with only eight minutes to eat.

After four periods of classes without even a second to process what the last trigonometric equation was about, now I have to move on to the diseases and bacteria in science class. That’s without forgetting that tomorrow my research project is due and right after that I have to take my math test. I question myself every day how taking all these classes back to back is going to make me feel more prepared for college if my health is being put at risk, without a chance to unplug my brain and be able to give my brain a break. With all this hurried pace, no wonder many high school students are stressed out to the max. They don’t sleep, they are angry, they are distracted, they have poor health, and, as a result, they don’t do so well in school.

Therefore, we must implement a comprehensive stress-management system in all high schools, including breaks and active stress-management techniques. Stress either comes from too much responsibility, lack of motivation, or overwhelming life circumstances. “A certain amount of stress helps students stay on their toes and perform at the top of their games. But too much stress and too little free time to relax and unwind can compromise productivity and lead to conditions like anxiety, aggression or physical illness,” says the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.^[1]

To a student, stress is not only a mental and emotional problem. It is a physical problem as well. When you have too much stress your brain actually starts sending signals down your spinal cord to your adrenal gland, telling it to release the hormone adrenaline. Once released, adrenaline increases the amount of sugar in your blood, increases your heart rate and raises your blood pressure and putting the student’s life in danger.^[2] But how do we combat stress? There are many ways, but all of them focus on getting both body and mind back into functional mode. How can we best do this in high school?

First, give us a break! No, really. Who ever thought that having high school students in classes from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with nothing but a twenty-three minute break for lunch was a productive idea? Montpelier High School in Vermont, for example, is already doing this: they have a fifteen-minute recess period every day for all Montpelier High School students. Recess includes activities that are student or teacher led, like yoga, meditation, Frisbee, basketball, jam band, and art projects. Students unplug from the curriculum, from stress, and from electronics during these fifteen minutes. The short break provides them an opportunity to connect with one another and teachers in a new way, and as a result, students feel more productive and more connected to the school community.^[3]

Improving mental and physical health by bringing back recess for high schoolers is another idea. When I say break, I’m not talking about a five-minute thing, but more of a thirty-minute recess time, not including your lunchtime. In an article in The New York Times, Gretchen Reynolds explains how a simple walk can change your mood overall, and also your emotions. ”People who walk or otherwise exercise regularly tend to be more calm, alert, and happier than people who are inactive.” she writes.^[4] In other words, a student who has taken four hours of classes on a roll without a break is always tired and cannot think straight through one thing at a time. Students would benefit by having yoga and meditation classes in high school, too.

I’m here to prove to you that when students unplug for a little while, their motivation and skills increase like there is no tomorrow. In conclusion, I’d like for every high school student to be able to have recess for at least fifteen or thirty minutes every afternoon after third period, and have some yoga and meditation classes to help them manage their stress.

1. AshleyMiller, “Helping High School Students Become Productive Students,” Seattle PostIntelligencer, Accessed March 4, 2016, http://education.seattlepi.com/helping-high-school-students-become-productive-students-5220.html. ↑
2. Your Amazing Brain. “Stress: Your Brain and Body.” Your Amazing Brain. Accessed March 04, 2016. http://www.youramazingbrain.org/brainchanges/stressbrain.htm. ↑
3. Thornton, Amy Brooks. “Montpelier High School Unplugged.” The Bridge: Free, Independent & Local. September 19, 2013. Accessed March 4, 2016. http://www.montpelierbridge.com/2013/09/montpelier-high-school-unplugged/. ↑
4. Reynolds, Gretchen. “The Benefits of a Lunch Hour Walk.” The New York times. January 21, 2015. Accessed November 23, 2015. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/stressed-at-work-try-a-lunchtime-walk/?_r=0. ↑