Teens have a lot to worry about, not just at school, but some have jobs and a rough home life.

Students have their own way to maintain their stress, and work around it. Not everyone thinks the same way or takes their health into consideration when they are under stress.

“My mom always told me that your body is a temple, and you need to treat that temple correctly. Stressing about things like school, work, even friends and family can cause you to lose sleep and sleep is one of the most important bodily functions there is. Your temple needs sleep like a dog needs an owner or how a baby needs its mother. A really good way I deal with my stress when it starts affecting my sleep is by journaling. When you are lying awake at night and are thinking about all the stuff stressing you out write it all down. Do not let things have that much power over you, you only get one temple do not treat it badly,” Senior Isabel Araujo said.

School is a big problem with students who cannot stay focused. They tend to think about other things going on in their lives that they may think are more important. Not everyone is able to maintain and balance their responsibilities.

“Accept that you can’t do things perfectly no matter how hard you try. You also can’t control everything in your life. So do yourself a favor and stop thinking you can do so much. And don’t forget to keep up your sense of humor. Laughter goes a long way towards making you feel relaxed. Figure out what are the biggest causes of stress in your life. Is it your job, your commute, your schoolwork? If you’re able to identify what they are, see if you’re able to eliminate them from your life, or at least reduce them,” Medical Melinda Ratini, DO, MS said.

Students who work and go to school sometimes have trouble keeping a decent sleep schedule. Employers have teens working until close and expect them to get up early the next morning for school, then do the same thing the next day. It gets hard on teens bodies, and eventually they might burn out. Take it from me, I struggle being able to maintain everything. I have a job, take care of my sisters, take care of my disabled uncle, and go to school. It is not easy, and my grades have been affected by it, and so has my attendance. If I want to be able to graduate, and start a life, I need to be able to keep things organized and cope with all my responsibilities.

“Being at home can be a little stressful knowing that I gave a little brother that runs around a lot and gets into things. Also, I possibly do not get much attention, but it does not bother me much knowing I am the oldest. School life is the most stressful along with working afterwards. I am the last-minute type of person, so I get stressed out quickly. Working at McDonald’s is mainly busy 24/7, and there can be customers that are rude. My methods of dealing with stress are listening to music or going out and clearing my mind,” Senior Ashira Carlton said.

Teens who work and go to school have a lot going on. Some start to struggle with keeping everything in order, which causes stress. Stress can cause lack of sleep, problems learning, and so much more.

“Today, kids are expected to know what they want to do—where they want to go to school and in which field they’d like to work—earlier than ever before. They are also expected to do well and are put on “success” tracks even in elementary school. Most teens work to earn money, which they like, but it takes time away from other things like academics, extra-curricular activities, volunteering, spending time with family and friends, having fun, and simply enjoying life,” associate professor of psychology at St. Edward’s University, Sara Villanueva, Ph.D said.

Having a rough home life, this can affect students’ mental health as well, not only their grades. With this, their attendance may also be a problem. Teens often act out when they have a lot going on, and they are not able to cope.

“I would say that having a job while being a student can take a toll on your grades. Between having to remember when to submit your assignments, working late on school days, being too tired to pay attention to school, and all sorts of other things. It would be nice if teachers and schools in general were a bit more understanding about things like that, when they consider that some students are working upwards of 20-40 hours a week, on top of their schoolwork,” Junior Ciara Gallagher said.