How Much Work is Too Much Work?

With many of us students facing the reality that Financial Aid and grants are no longer as much help with paying for our college tuition, many turn to working to help cover the costs of earning a degree. In an article written by Laura W. Perna, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, "Today nearly one in ten, (roughly 8%) of full-time, traditional-age undergraduates is employed at least thirty-five hours a week." Although to most that doesn't seem like a significant amount, the fact of the matter is, those eight percent of college students are working about as many hours a week as their parents do, while still attending school full time.

As I mentioned previously, most college institutions suggest that if students want to work, they should work no more than 20 hours weekly. They also encourage students to work on campus versus off campus.

Having worked an average of 50 hours a week for most of this semester, I agree that there is definitely a limit to how much students should work while in school. From my experience, working too much affected my study habits as well as my health. For one thing, it made me much more irritable, and I had less patience after having to pull all nighters on Sundays week after week. I also was not able to have any free time, which made my weeks go by in a blur, with nothing but work, school, homework and classes. I was unable to do things that most college students partake in.

I also noticed that it was very hard for me to stay awake in a lot of my classes, and I depended on energy drinks and other sources of caffeine to stay awake, which can be very unhealthy. Studies have shown that now more than ever college students have become more dependent on energy drinks and coffee to stay awake and alert through their everyday life. Most of us consume more caffeine than we are actually aware of.

In the chart above, from the Brief Addiction Science Information Source, many students report consuming energy drinks for various reasons, some of which being not having enough sleep, and feeling the need for an energy boost.

It's common for us to feel stressed, or really tired, do you use energy drinks to compensate for a lack of sleep?