A typical day of high school consists of six and a half hours sitting in a classroom, at a desk, indoors. At Ida B. Wells High School, each class period is over 90 minutes long with very few breaks. Even worse, our lunch period is only 33 minutes, with many students spending that time indoors working on assignments. When they get home, high schoolers continue to spend time inside where they either study, work on assignments or rot in their beds, scrolling on their phones.
Meanwhile, in nearby elementary schools, students have shorter classes and get one or two breaks per day, which is spent playing outdoors; and when they get home, they don’t have as much work to do.
The disproportionate amount of time teenagers spend indoors is negatively affecting their mental health and academic success. The solution is clear. We need to bring recess back.
Spending too much time inside is damaging to student health in multiple ways.
For example, if you’ve ever felt drowsy during school despite getting a good night’s sleep, there might be a reason. Underfunded public high schools like IBW can’t afford high-quality air ventilation for every classroom, and opening windows wastes heat. This causes poor air quality due to a buildup of carbon dioxide in classrooms, which, according to the American Lung Association, can cause students to experience headaches and drowsiness, which keeps students from concentrating.
It can also increase the spread of disease, which keeps students from attending school. All of these issues can significantly lower academic performance, including grades and standardized test scores. Getting more time outside would be beneficial in offsetting some of these consequences by allowing students to take in fresh air more often.
Being indoors also negatively affects mental health by creating crowded, overstimulating environments. This issue is even worse as class sizes increase due to understaffing. This can cause students to feel uneasy and stressed, as well as block their motivation and creativity, making assignments more difficult to understand and complete. According to UC Davis, getting time outside can reduce student stress and allow students to think more clearly. This could improve student productivity in class while also promoting better mental health.
By being indoors all of the time, students live very sedentary lives. A benefit of having outdoor recess in elementary school is that students can take a break from sitting all day and run around to release their energy. While physical education classes are offered for IBW students, they are not required after the student has received two semesters of credit, and many don’t have room in their schedules for extra physical education. By allowing more outdoor time for high school students, they will be able to get more exercise, even if it’s just walking and taking in fresh air, which has numerous physical and mental health benefits in the short and long term.
A major concern opposing more time outside is that there just isn’t enough time in school to allow for breaks. After all, how can students get everything done if we have to set aside time for them to relax outdoors?
Currently, because students spend so much time inside and are being negatively affected by the consequences of doing so, they’re not working at their fullest potential. They spend a lot of class time on their phones, staring at their Chromebooks, sleeping or distracting others. If we took more time outside of the classroom for outdoor breaks, students would use their in-class time much more effectively.
Regardless of the proven benefits, we can’t change school structure on a whim. So, what can students do in the meantime to get more outdoor time?
If it’s accessible, it can be beneficial for students to walk to and from school. This gives them a chance to exercise and breathe in fresh air before and after a long day, which will improve their mood and concentration.
It can also be helpful for students to do homework or study sessions outside if the weather permits, to get fresh air and be able to easily walk around during break times.
If students are spending time with their friends indoors during lunch, they might want to consider moving their hangout outside.
Whatever you choose, the benefits of getting outdoors cannot be understated, especially as the end of the year approaches and the workload increases.
