I looked down at my to-do list. A project and an essay due tomorrow, and three tests. The clock ticked away, reminding me it was getting later and later. Should I let myself go to sleep, or stay up to finish my homework?

For pretty much my entire academic career, I picked the homework. I took all the Honors, Advanced, and AP classes I could. If there was an advanced class, I probably signed up for it. Many of the people around me were signing up for advanced classes, so I thought I had to, too. I often stayed up well past midnight to get all of my work done.

But as I progressed and pushed myself further and further, those classes began to become overwhelming, and the balance between school, extracurriculars and my social life became harder to achieve. I was doing hours of homework every night and never able to get completely caught up.

In my experience, I’ve noticed many high school students can relate. We are encouraged to do the most in every area of our lives to succeed, even when it’s not always possible or healthy to do so.

According to College Board, the average student takes three AP classes over the course of their high school experience.

For me, I’ve taken eight total throughout my sophomore, junior and senior years.

These classes are taught on a college level, meaning they’re much more difficult than other high school classes and provide a similar educational experience and rigor level as a college student. Homework, tests and projects are much harder and more common than what the average student is challenged with. This level of workload takes up much more of these students’ time.

According to U.S. News, teachers assign an average of three and a half hours of homework every single school night. On top of being at school for seven hours, being encouraged to sleep eight to ten hours and participating in extracurricular activities, this leaves hardly any time for the student to relax and recover because all extra time is spent doing schoolwork.

Prioritizing your education is in no way a bad thing to do, in fact it is encouraged in today’s society. But many students, including myself, struggle to find the balance between education and other elements of their lives. As you get older and more involved, school begins to dominate all of your free time, your mental health is bound to take a toll because of it.

According to the University of Southern Florida’s College of Education, students taking accelerated coursework, like college classes, in high school face much higher levels of stress than their classmates.

But how does one remedy this? Dropping hard classes? Not doing your homework? Not being able to participate in extracurriculars?

That is the difficult choice that is up to each individual student. Maybe the solution is limiting your advanced classes to only two or three a year, or finding a better way to manage your stress with relaxing activities and budget your time better to ensure you get all of your work done in a timely manner. No matter what the identified problem, it is vital that every student finds a solution that works for them.

The fact remains that mental health deserves a spot in your schedule, no matter how many AP, dual credit, advanced or honors classes you’re taking. So make sure to take the time to find a plan that works for you and prioritizes not only your educational future, but also the future of your mental health. If you’d like to talk to one of our counselors about how your classes are impacting your mental health, visit the Counseling page of the LHS website to make an appointment.