Homework, sleep deprivation and anxiety

There's an article on sleep deprivation and anxiety today in the Huffington Post.

I offered the following responses:

Although this study was conducted on adults, it has obvious bearing on the well-being of young people. One of the things I have found in my studies of homework-trapped children is that they appear angry and rebellious, but they are actually quite anxious and afraid. Defiance is a strategy they use to cope with unrelenting pressures from parents and teachers alike. They loss respite at home. They are pushed to do work up until bedtime. They have trouble sleeping, and, in total, this makes it more difficult for them to work. This article adds one more piece, that the sleep deprivation that follows then increases the anxiety, which, in your people who feel under the gun, gets expressed as "bad behavior."



Dr. Kenneth Goldberg is a clinical psychologist with 35 years of professional experience in dealing with many different psychological issues. He is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Students and Teachers and currently works in his own private practice.

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