Resolutions for a Happy, Healthy New Year: Teach100 Mentors Weigh In
The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates that about half a million U.S. teachers either move or leave the profession each year. Research has shown that a range of factors affect teacher retention, especially administrative policies. But the fact that the rate of attrition is higher at high-poverty schools leads many people to hypothesize that heavy workloads and stress is a source of the problem.
So just how many teachers are feeling the pressure? A recent Gallup poll found that 46 percent of teachers report “a lot” of stress on a given day — as much as doctors and nurses, and more than executives, service workers and business owners. Makes sense when you consider that teachers “manage behaviour, plan lessons, assess learning, counsel students, carry out first aid, reply to a long list of emails, write reports, tidy classrooms, create resources, mark books and create displays” in the course of the day, as Secret Teacher notes.
With students relying on teachers to help guide them through their most formative academic years, it makes sense for all of us to invest in our teachers a bit more, and for teachers to invest in themselves.
At the start of a fresh year (and at the midpoint of the school calendar), we asked members of Teach100 what they’d most like to do in 2015 to maintain their physical and emotional health.
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Here’s what they had to say:
- Play more.
40 percent of our respondents would like to make more time for hobbies and leisure. Though that may require a bit of creative scheduling, it’s worth it. Becoming absorbed in an activity or project is a great way to enter a state of “flow” (i.e., complete immersion in the task at hand) that studies have closely linked with happiness, fulfillment, and yes, stress reduction.
It’s also a great way to set aside the worries and concerns of the day—a key component of reducing teaching stress, according to our mentors.
- Get active.
Many of our Teach100 Mentors (and plenty of non-teachers too) want to lose 5 or more pounds this year. So it’s clear that hitting the gym is already high on teachers’ priority lists. To be exact, 69 percent of our mentors report they’d like to exercise more in 2015.
But if the “first-year five” pounds of extra weight isn’t reason enough, consider this: Harvard Medical School reports that physical stress is directly related to emotional relaxation, thanks to reductions it induces in stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. Vigorous exercise (like a high-energy run or bike ride) also releases endorphins, your body’s natural mood boosters and painkillers. They may be the perfect natural antidote to test anxiety, or aches and pains from lots of standing.
- Spend time with friends and family.
You may think that after a long day of managing a classroom full of students and talking yourself hoarse that the best thing for you is to be alone. But isolating yourself is a missed opportunity for stress-busting “social flow.”
Social flow means full engagement with unpredictable acts of social interaction, like the state of intense focus you enter when working on a project or hobby. The benefits for mingling are two-fold. First, in the process of having a conversation, for example, external demands on our attention distract us from any anxiety and depression we’re dealing with.
Second, and perhaps more importantly, investing in social support structures over time serves as a safety net for future stressors. Relationships with other teachers, for example, can aid you through a tough work day, while laughs with friends at the end of the day can help you leave worries behind.
Luckily, our Mentors seem to know how important this is: 42 percent are planning on making more time for family and friends in the coming year.
- Eat well — and brown bag it.
With all the immediate demands on a teacher’s attention throughout the day, it’s easy to forget to eat properly. But as NPR points out, what you snack on can definitely affect your mental state, not to mention your physical wellbeing. And even “healthy” convenience foods like instant oatmeal can sap your energy.
It’s not an easy solution, but packing fresh food from home is a much better choice, and our Mentors seem to know it. About one-fourth of responders reported that they’d like to prepare more meals at home as a New Year’s resolution.
- Get support from your workplace.
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A lucky 10 percent of Teach100 Mentors told us that their places of employment offer incentives for healthy lifestyles, including group fitness classes (56%), healthy food options (56%), and on-site fitness center (44%).
Of those who didn’t report having these benefits on the job, responders would have most appreciated having healthier food available (44%), getting a few more personal days (41%), and receiving a discount on a gym membership (41%) — all of which seem like fair and inexpensive measures.
School administrators, take note!
- Stay healthy.
It’s hard to enjoy even the most stress-free day if you’re physically unwell, so don’t forget to keep illness at bay this year. Our teachers recommend washing your hands frequently, taking your vitamins, and eating and sleeping well to stay cold- and flu-free. Sound advice.
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