New Study: US students’ 2021 resolutions more focused on health/wellbeing than in past years

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The new year is the perfect time for everyone to get a fresh start and make resolutions to better themselves. This rings especially true for young students discovering who they are, how to take care of themselves physically and mentally, and what they’re passionate about.

Online learning community Brainly surveyed 1,000 US high school students about their New Year’s resolutions. (Little did anyone know what a challenging and unprecedented year 2020 would end up to be at the time.) This year, only 57% of high schoolers said they were making New Year resolutions, which is roughly a 20% decrease compared to last year.

“While we faced many unique challenges in 2020 with the pandemic, students should see this moment in time as a chance for a clean slate and start anew. For teenagers especially, learning healthy habits and sticking to them—New Year’s or not—can be the key to a long, happy life. The lifestyle choices they make now will lay the foundation for what’s ahead: the real world,” says Patrick Quinn, parenting expert at Brainly, former educator, and father of three.

Here are a few more highlights from the survey:

  • MORE THAN ONE-THIRD OF STUDENTS SAY THEY WANT TO EXERCISE MORE
    Some 39% of students say they want to exercise more in 2021, which is no surprise without regular gym classes or sports leagues. Last year, getting better sleep was the biggest health-related resolution with more than half of students pinpointing it as their top priority.
     
  • HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE HABITS IS THE #1 SUBJECT OF 2021 RESOLUTIONS
    This year’s survey revealed that the majority of students (72%) are most concerned with making healthier decisions when it comes to their daily routines including drinking more water, taking walks more often, exercising on a regular basis, eating healthier, and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, to name a few. The second most popular resolution was spending less time procrastinating (7%). Last year, improving grades snagged the #1 spot on students’ resolution list with a whopping 55%.
     
  • OVERCOMING SOCIAL ANXIETY TOPS LIST OF ‘REAL WORLD’ RESOLUTIONS
    When it comes to skills students want to cultivate for success after graduating high school, 33% said they want to resolve their social anxieties in 2021. Public speaking (22%) was the runner-up, and financial literacy and budgeting (13%) was the third most popular skills-based resolution for post-grad success. 
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