Mental health is becoming a major problem in schools and colleges. According to recent reports, children as young as four are suffering from anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and eating disorders which no four-year-old should suffer from. Mental health should be a mandatory subject, Harvard studies have shown that the, best way to succeed in life is self-control and emotional health. Then why aren't we taught it? if suicide rates are rising particularly in universities, where they have doubled and are at an all-time high. why aren't we told how to handle our emotions, how to handle stress, bullying, rejection, and how to cope with anxiety or depression? Luckily, I was taught at my school how to handle bullying, but many people haven't been taught this it at all. If mental health is made mandatory, suicide rates and mental illnesses will decrease as people will be more in control of their emotions and be able to help other people who can't control theirs. According to a recent report over the recent years, self-harming has risen by 68 %. This affects me on a personal level as I myself often self-harmed for not doing too well at school, exams, tests, and in life in general.
Things such as exams and homework can contribute to mental health problems but there is another that is causing this rise in mental illness and, that is sleep deprivation. A lot of children and teenagers are not getting enough sleep. They have to wake up early just so they can get ready for school. Because of this children don't want to learn as they are tired and unwilling to work. Some schools in the UK according to Youtuber Thoughty2 have decided to start some schools at around 10 am instead of around 9 am. So far, the experiment has been mostly successful, children have become more willing and happier to learn, and sleep-deprived diseases have drastically decreased. We should also encourage schools and parents to make sure that children are spending, at least two hours a day outside. There is a limit to how much we can learn when we are surrounded by four walls. Being outside for at least two hours especially when it is sunny and doing a lot of physical exercise can help with decreasing stress, which in turn will decrease mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Children will also be less likely to get obese if they are exercising and in addition, they will be less likely to develop short-sightedness. According to recent studies, children who spend 2 or more hours in outside when it is sunny are less likely to develop short-sightedness than those who don't. We also need to make cafeteria food healthy, as a lot of the food that is served is mostly starchy and sugary foods and not enough meat, fruits, and vegetables that have nutrients that a growing child needs in their diet to be healthy.
The government now needs to focus on, decreasing the average suicide rates, which have been increasing, instead of trying to make students get the best possible grades. The government needs to also encourage people to have, at least 6 to 8 hours of sleep as chronic lack of sleep has been linked to obesity, brain damage, type 2 diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, people who sleep six to eight hours tend to live longer than those who don't. So please, dear government, try to encourage people to take 6-8 hours of sleep. This will decrease medical bills for hospitals and this will ensure a better and healthier workforce.