Being involved in multiple extracurriculars can look great on college applications, but it can also lead to lots of overscheduling in students leading to anxiety and stress.

Overscheduling is when students become involved in too many activities that take up most of their free time after school and possibly on the weekends. This problem is generally more popular in high schoolers, but younger kids are know joining the problem.

With club sports and intense after school activities, kids as young as elementary level are becoming overscheduled. In a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau, about 57 percent of students aged 6 to 17 are involved in one or more extracurricular activity, 35 percent participate in sports, and 29 percent in clubs or the arts. More than half of students are involved in these activities add homework or social events on top off that.

With 7 hours and 15 minutes of school, hours of after school activities, mounds of homework, and more, students are losing sleep and performing worse on tests because of it. Sleep deprivation is extremely common among students with more than 87 percent of students getting less than 8 to 10 hours of sleep. Most students don’t even finish homework until late at night, giving them no time for sleep.

But, there are many ways to find a balance between school and life.

Prioritizing is one of the  best ways to manage overscheduling. Students should try to prioritize academics over extracurriculars in order to keep up grades for the long run.

Another very important strategy is to recognize that it’s okay to say no. Many students do not realize that it’s important to say no to things that will cause more stress in your life. With these strategies, overscheduling can be a little more bearable.