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I remember the first time I stayed up late in my college dorm to cram hundreds of pages of reading I couldn’t even fathom finishing by morning. I didn’t end up reading every word, but I later realized that most students didn’t, either. It also dawned on me that somewhere along the way, I had internalized a default state of anxiety when it came to my schoolwork.
Many other high school and college students have similar experiences, according to Erin Clabough, a neuroscience, biology and psychology professor at the University of Virginia. Indeed, a recent survey found that one-third of college students self-reported experiencing either anxiety or depression.
Students who struggle with anxiety might find that “stress doesn’t switch off when they leave the classroom or finish an exam. It can become the body’s normal, staying with learners long after graduation,” Clabough explains.
Clabough writes about how too much academic pressure and stress can cut off a “curiosity loop” that makes learning fun – and why the theory that there is an optimal amount of stress for good performance is flawed.
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