People say that homework is supposed to help children in school. Homework,however actually can worsen a child’s grades. Homework has many side effects, some of which are dangerous. A clear side effect of too much homework is lack of sleep. Many students do poorly on exams because of sleep deprivation.

Research showed that students did not think homework was useful and regarded homework as a burden. Students felt pressured to do homework instead of visiting family and participating in activities they used to enjoy. According to research, “56 percent of the students considered homework a primary source[of sleep deprivation]. Forty-three percent viewed tests as a primary stressor, while 33 percent put the pressure to get good grades in that category. Less than 1 percent of the students said homework was not a stressor.”(healthline.com)Ms. Pope; a researcher said that said the “magic number when it comes to homework is 'nothing over two hours' for highs school and 'no more than 90 minutes' in middle school.”(dailymail.co)As the diagram on the left shows, most students surveyed spent one to two hours each night doing homework. At Wilmington High School and other schools in Massachusetts, that was not always the case.

To prove what research says is true there, was an informal study I conducted that proves students spend too much time on homework and do not always get enough sleep. There was a survey given out to various students in different grades. The results were varied, depending on grade and school. The survey was given out to students both at Wilmington High School and other schools and towns. Students from Wilmington High School said that they did not get enough sleep and knew they needed more sleep. Students at Wilmington High School did around two to three hours of homework per night. Most students were still able to do activities, but by doing extra curricular activities students said they were up later doing their homework. Most Wilmington students got six to seven hours of sleep, but studies show that kids should get eight hours of sleep. See table below for more data.

Wilmington High School
Time spent on homework
Time for activities
time spent sleeping
4-5 hours
no
6-7 hours
2 ½- 3 ½ hours
yes
5 hours
5 hours heavy
3 hours light
yes
6-7 hours
3-4 on heavy
1-2 on light
yes, but doesn't do a lot of extra curricular activities
5-6 hours need more
1 unless have projects
yes
6-7 hours
3 hours
yes, can only do one extra thing a day
6-7 hours
2-4 hours
yes
5-6 hours
3-5 hours
yes
6-9 hours
3-4 hours
yes
6-8 hours
3 hours
no
5-6 hours
5-6 hours
no
5 hours
1-2 hours
yes
8 hours

Students from other towns got roughly the same amount of homework as kids from Wilmington High School, which was two to three hours. All of the students said that they had time for activities, but sometimes they had to spend extra time on homework. The students that go to other schools got around six to seven hours of sleep per night. Wilmington High School students and other students from other schools did not differ in terms of  homework, activities, and sleeping. They both spent around two to three hours on homework with time for activities and got around six to seven hours of sleep. See table below for more data.

Other Schools
Time spent on homework
Time for activities
time spent sleeping
2 hours
yes
6.5 hours
3-4 hours
yes depending on the day, has to spend more time on homework
6-7 hours
1-2 hours
sometimes
7-8 hours
1-2 hours
yes
8 hours

One researcher showed the number of hours spent doing homework and the number of hours spent sleeping.This researcher surveyed sophomores. Most sophomores surveyed did two to under four hours of homework, but some students did have more than that. Four students surveyed had eight or more hours of homework to do. The researcher also surveyed the sophomores on how many hours of sleep they got. More than half of the sophomores got seven or less hours of sleep per night.(see diagram to the right) Another researcher surveyed 102 students. 52 students said that they got five to six hours of sleep on a weeknight. Only one student said that he or she got more than nine hours of sleep. On a weekend 48 students got seven to eight hours of sleep. Students spent the weekend catching up on homework and sleep. The researcher also asked the students what were their reason for giving  up sleep was. 86 out of the 102 students said that it was because they were finishing up homework. 57 students said they lost sleep because they were studying for a test. For more information look at the picture to the right.
Teachers give students too much homework. Students do not get enough sleep because they are trying to finish homework or they are studying. Researchers say high school students should get no more than two hours of homework per night. Most students got more than two hours of homework per night and this caused them to lose precious sleep time.

Homework also causes students mental and physical health to deteriorate. Students are putting their health at risk trying to finish homework. “Teens who have more homework than they can handle may become disillusioned with school and may lose the motivation to work hard,” says Gerald LeTendre, head of Penn State’s Education Policy Studies department.( livestrong.com) Research done by Australian researchers clearly suggested that placing too much homework can cause lower grades and even lead pupils to begin suffering from depression.(factualfacts.com) Homework also causes scholars to become less physically active. When teens are not physically active it can lead to obesity and other health related problems.(livestrong.com) Homework affects teens mental and physical health.
Homework causes many problems for students. These problems include sleep deprivation, lack of physical activity, and poor mental health. Students should get about two hours of homework and eight hours of sleep. Some of the homework assigned, is found useless by students. Homework would be more beneficial if the homework assigned was usefull.