Irish Teens Miss Ten School Days a Year Due to Stress, Survey Finds

A new survey has found that Irish teenagers miss an average of ten school days each year because of stress, with exams identified as the biggest pressure facing young people.

The Zenflore Teen Stress Survey, based on 502 responses from parents with teenage children, found that exams, schoolwork and homework were the greatest sources of stress, with 50% of parents citing these as the biggest stressors for their teens. That figure rose to 55% among parents of very stressed teenagers, well ahead of social media at 34%, friendships at 33%, and future plans or college at 30%.

Almost nine out of ten parents felt their teenage children were stressed in an average week, with two in three reporting their teens to be very stressed. Of those, 43% said their child had missed school due to stress, with an average of ten days per year attributed to the issue.

Sleep was also a significant concern, with 88% of parents of stressed teens saying sleep was impacted. Almost one in five reported that stress was significantly affecting their teen's sleep.

With the Leaving Certificate and Junior Cycle examinations now approaching, educator Tadgh O'Donovan, known as Teach With Tadgh on social media, offered advice for students in the coming weeks.

"These findings show that stress is having a very real and tangible impact on Ireland's teenagers. The approaching exam season will only exacerbate this and we need to do our best to support our young people through what will, for many of them, be the most difficult period of their lives so far. Coping mechanisms will vary from individual to individual and range from mindfulness and meditation to listening to music and talking it out, but what we know works for everyone is exercise, good nutrition and sleep.

Don't be tempted to burn the midnight oil to do some last-minute cramming - your brain needs sleep to process the information it encounters during the day so without proper sleep, you're less likely to remember anything you've studied that day or night, and your stress levels will only increase — which will work against you in the exam hall. If you're feeling overwhelmed, go for a walk. It will clear your head and help you concentrate. Focus on good food and nutrition that will give you sustained brain power, and eat plenty of fruit and veg to get a rich supply of the vitamins and minerals that will help memory, concentration and sleep. Supplements could also be helpful for this so chat to your pharmacist to find out what would work best for you like Zenflore Teen that's powered by Bifidobacterium longum 1714™ bacterial strain that has been shown to support stress resilience, emotional wellbeing, calmness and sleep quality by helping communication between the gut and brain."

The Zenflore Teen Stress Survey was commissioned by Precision Biotics and is based on 502 responses from parents with teenage children.