Student fatigue is a real and serious condition that not only affects the academic aspect of a student’s life, but also the personal as well. Recent studies from various sources and schools of thought all agree that in our highly urbanized, highly connected, and highly technological modern lifestyle, the pressure to learn how to use new technologies have become a major concern for educators and parents. Although the young brain is capable of absorbing and analyzing numerous kinds of information, fatigue or too much brain activity can have detrimental effects on the health and well-being of the student.
But what are signs of student fatigue, and better yet, what can we do to avoid them and be healthier. elevate.com.au, a website promoting health, has offered advice from various experts on the field on the basics of avoiding student fatigue. Watch out for the signs, and if you are an educator or parent, learn the tricks and tips on helping your students cope with the stresses of our modern world.
1. Listen to your body -Watch out for signs of fatigue. Different body parts have different ways of showing they’ve worked too much. One example is eye fatigue, or aptly called reading fatigue, as the symptoms are usually brought about by too much reading. One of the signs is falling asleep while or after you read. This means that the activity took too much brain power that it feels the need to rest afterwards. Is it due to too much reading? Surprisingly enough, it isn’t. Experts agree that it boils down to learning good reading techniques. Reading is almost like a physical activity or exercise, and just like exercising, learning how to have breaks in between long chapters actually train your brain to cope with compartmentalized activities, and allow it to rest during breaks.
2. Always check for physical or medical causes. If your child or student is low on energy and has a look that says he/she just wants to home, chances are they’re experiencing fatigue. It is highly detrimental to learning because no matter how the approach is, the fatigued brain will not absorb new knowledge, as there is already too much that needs to processed. There are many conditions that contribute to fatigue, and these are often treatable with the right pharmacological interventions. For example hypothyroidism has been proven to have links with depression and chronic fatigue syndrome – so having a doctor treat this condition could have direct effects on the energy level of the student.
3. Control the learner’s environment. There are studies linking the effects of the environment on mood and energy level. A learner’s environment has to be conducive to learning, which means the medium of instruction should not compete with other environmental factors for the attention of the student. Imagine having a class in a closed room versus having a class in the cafeteria; the learners having classes in the cafeteria are more likely to experience student fatigue because they have to use extra brain power to block out the background noise to understand the topic – too much of this, in a long-term situation, can definitely lead to learner’s fatigue.
5. Eat Right - A healthy diet goes a long way. There are many studies linking food to our level or alertness and motivation. They’ve found out that a healthy diet with lots of protein can be very beneficial for students. Protein also helps our brain to keep the alertness level high, while too much carbohydrate, especially at lunch, can actually make the student sleepy in the afternoon. As a parent or teacher, feeding your student right can greatly improve his/her chances of coping with stress, and at the same time, build healthier bodies that are more likely to be able to handle stressful situations because of the stored energy healthy bodies can provide.
