What’s one thing most teens and most adults do almost every week? The answer to that question is work. Interesting thing is most jobs and/or careers enforce the average 5 day 40 hour work week, but most of that time is wasted. A recent survey posted in The Atlantic has shown that in the U.S. employees spend 45% doing normal work duties . The other 55% is spent being on their electronic devices or going to meetings. Something more interesting is 100 years ago, factory workers used to work 10 hour days and six days a week then they had to go to church, leaving them with practically not a single day to themselves, as posted in the Costa, Dora L. Papers and Proceeds.

Luckily there were two groups that fought for the modern Saturday off, Labor Unions and Jewish people. Both groups had an unlikely ally, Henry Ford. That’s right the inventor of the Ford cars we know and love today. In 1926, Ford gave his workers two days off a week. This made numerous companies follow suit. Good boss, right? Well think again. Ford wasn’t a good person either. He was super racist and despised Labor Unions. Ford didn’t change the work week for the employees he did it because overworked employees are less productive and had no time to buy his products. Ford knew it would be good for business and did it all for himself. As time passes by, everyone thought the work week would get shorter in 1930. The economist, John Maynard, predicted in 2030 we would be working as little as 15 hours a week according to Essays in Persuasion 1930. Funny thing is Richard Nixon agreed to this as well. For awhile it looked like that was going to happen. People in the U.S. were working less hours and being more productive until about the 1970’s and then people started working longer and more days, making the average U.S. work 4 more weeks a year, per the Economic Policy Institute. All those extra hours are terrible for business. Overtime increases heavy fatigue, mistakes and safety accidents for industrial workers by 61%.

Why tell you these facts and statistics? The answer to the question is teenagers are working 26 hours or more as shown in a recent poll at Marshfield High School. Chances are students who work 26 hours or more with school and/or sports and extracurriculars have a much harder time staying on task and keeping their growing bodies healthy. How to manage all of this? Here’s tips for you to stay awake and focused during school, work and anything else to add on that.

• Try drinking 16 oz of ice cold water in the morning. Harvard scientists have shown that drinking a glass of ice cold water gets the mind active and blood pumping to get your body more active and ready to start the day.
• Remember to eat healthy and when you are sitting down make sure your body posture is more straight. This allows the body to have more blood flow making you more awake and focused.
• Also watch your caffeine intake. Having too much caffeine will cause you to crash.

These are only a few tips that you might find helpful in making it through that long and exhausting days.