Academic Burnout: What It Is And How You Can Help

 

It is normal for students to feel stressed and tired during the exam period. To an extent, manageable stress is healthy. It can increase alertness and performance. It is also common to feel disengaged from studies and unenthusiastic during exam time. However, there are signs that these feelings are escalating into revision burnout, which is a more detrimental problem. 

The signs of exam burnout do vary from student to student. Some students have the ability to perform under pressure and tight deadlines, while others don’t. 

 

What actually causes it? 

Burnout is defined as a ‘physical, emotional, or mental exhaustion accompanied by decreased motivation, lowered performance, and negative attitude towards oneself and others, often caused by the overwhelming amount of school work and revision that comes with preparing for exams.' Interestingly, 87% of parents believe that their child's workload is much more than they experienced at school, so it is important that parents really monitor their children so that they don't burnout.

It is common for a child’s habit of procrastination and obsession with perfection to trigger student burnout. This creates a toxic cycle that causes a pile-up of work and an unhealthy amount of stress.

 

Signs of exam burnout 

• Constant mental and physical exhaustion 

• They want to spend time alone (reduced engagement with friends or family)

• They have lost interest in things they normally enjoy 

• Lack of motivation 

• Not sleeping or eating well 

• More irritable and inability to concentrate on revision and schoolwork 

• Grades getting worse as a result

If the issues are identified early enough, the problem can be solved more quickly

 

Tips to avoid exam burnout 

Whilst it may be tempting to really nudge our children to stay focused, studying for hours without being able to concentrate or retain any information is a waste of time. So how can we avoid and fix revision burnout?

• Maintain a balance between studies and hobbies. Encourage them to make time for fulfilling yet energising activities, such as exercising outdoors or playing music 

• Take breaks while studying. As a parent, it may be helpful to aid your child when creating their study schedule, to ensure that is manageable and realistic, and includes a balance of fun activities, getting outdoors and seeing friends alongside revision chunks

• Encourage your child to communicate how they're feeling with you. Even if they don’t feel like talking at first, support from loved ones may help relieve some of the pressure they feel

• Give them advice on managing screen time. Apps such as Offtime can help with this