Back to School Survival Tips for Teachers

Going back to school after the summer break can be just as stressful for teachers as it is for students.  Here we have put together our best back to school survival tips for teachers to help manage the stress and demands of the new school year.

Getting back into the daily rhythm of school life can be a shock after the long summer holidays.  For most teachers this means getting to know a whole new class of students and creating new lesson plans for the year ahead.  Before the term gets too busy, it can be helpful to think about ways to support your work-life balance and consider practical tips for healthy eating and managing stress.

Get ahead of the stress

If you finished last term feeling overworked and drained, it is a good idea to speak to your manager about workload before the new term begins.  Get clear in your own mind about what sort of help you need and write down the problem and possible solutions before speaking to them.  Doing this can help settle your nerves before the meeting and means you won’t forget any important points.

As well as discussing workload with your manager, think about ways that you can support yourself with managing stress.

Daily vagus nerve activation

The vagus nerve is a long, wandering nerve that travels from the brain down through the abdomen where it innervates the digestive system.  Activating the vagus nerve shifts the body from the “fight, flight or freeze” stress response into the “rest, digest, and heal” parasympathetic nerve response [1].

Find pockets of time throughout the day to practise these exercises to help keep your stress response in check:

• Deep belly breathing: Deep breathing is one of the fastest ways to stimulate the vagus nerve. When we are under stress our breathing becomes fast and shallow.  Counteract this by sitting upright with your hand on your belly and take 3-5 slow deep breaths.  You should feel your hand moving outwards as your ribs expand and push your belly outwards.  Do this at the start of the day and whenever you get a short break.
• Singing or humming: The combination of controlled deep breathing and vocal cord vibrations activate the vagus nerve and aid relaxation.
• Laughing! Share jokes with a colleague (or your students!) or watch comedy clips at the end of the day. Like singing, laughter helps you breathe deeply and releases feel-good endorphins in the nervous system.

Exercise and movement

It is all too easy for personal exercise time to disappear when we are under stress.  However, regular exercise is vital for helping us adapt and cope with stress and reduce the risk of long-term chronic health conditions like obesity, hypertension, and Type 2 diabetes [2].

Exercise sessions need to be scheduled into your weekly diary just like any other important appointment.  The UK Chief Medical Officer recommends adults enjoy 150 minutes moderate intensity activity per week or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise – or a mixture of both [3].  This can be split into short bursts such as a 20-minute walk or 30 minutes cycling.

The most important thing is to choose activities that you like doing and protect these times carefully so you can build a regular exercise habit.

Meal preparation

The school day starts early so there isn’t much time for preparing food before work.  Doing batch preparations on an evening takes away a lot of the hassle of meal prep, and ensures you are properly fuelled the next day.

• Breakfasts: use glass jars or tubs to make up batches of overnight oats or smoothie bowls (insert hyperlink to https://www.vitaminology.co/articles/digestion/gut-soothing-raspberry-breakfast-smoothie-bowl) for weekday breakfasts. Hard boil 5 eggs and keep them in the fridge for breakfasts or snacks.
• Packed lunches: use Thermos flasks for soups and casseroles, portion out leftovers from the night before into tubs, or make a large serving of mixed salad to take each day with different sources of protein (meat, eggs, tinned fish) and oatcakes or wholegrain crackers.
• Evening meals: mail-order healthy meal kits can save time and energy when you are tired after a long day at school. Also try batch cooking curries and pasta sauces on a weekend for use during the week.

Hydration

Students have their own water bottles – teachers need them too! Excess caffeine from tea, coffee, and sports drinks can worsen symptoms of anxiety and stimulate the production of stress hormones.  Drinking at least 1.5-2 litres plain water each day helps support energy levels, mood balance, and concentration.  Add fruit slices for flavour, and swap regular caffeinated drinks for herbal and Redbush teas.

 

Top 3 nutrients for managing stress

Alongside practical lifestyle changes, it can be helpful to look at increasing your intake of nutrients that help the body cope with ongoing stress:

1. Vitamin C: found in watercress, kiwi, berries, bell peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, peas, and citrus fruits, vitamin C is used by the adrenal glands to manufacture stress hormones. It also plays a key role in immunity, skin health and mental wellbeing.
2. Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic acid): this B-vitamin works alongside vitamin C for stress hormone production in the adrenal glands. It is found in a wide range of foods including sweet potato, legumes, lentils, egg yolks, red meat, nuts and salmon.
3. Magnesium: known as the ‘anti-stress mineral’, magnesium is used for making energy, neurotransmitter production, aiding sleep, and relaxing smooth muscles. Refined and processed foods are depleted of magnesium.  The best sources include dark green leafy vegetables, oats, beans, almonds, cashew nuts and Brazil nuts.

 

Top 3 nutrients for brain power

Fuelling your brain properly can help support memory, concentration, and mental alertness.  Combine food sources of brain-power-nutrients with foods that help manage stress to give your nervous system all-round support for the school year ahead:

1. Omega 3 fats: both omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)) are heavily involved in brain function and mental wellbeing. However, DHA is especially important for brain structure.  This omega-3 fatty acid makes up around 30-40% of brain cell membranes and is associated with neural plasticity [4]. This is the process of brain cell remodelling and organization in response to learning new information.

Oily fish and grass-fed meats are sources of ready-formed DHA, while cold-pressed seed oils like flax and hemp provide the precursor fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid.

 

2. Zinc: this trace mineral is essential for over 450 different enzyme reactions in the body, many of which are involved in cognitive function and mental wellbeing. Top food sources include red meat, poultry, oysters, nuts, and seeds.

 

3. Probiotics: the gut microbiome consists of trillions of bacteria, yeasts, and fungi living in the digestive system. This complex network of microbes communicates with the brain via the vagus nerve.  Studies have shown that a richly diverse microbiome is associated with improvements in learning and memory, and that the gut microbiome is strongly linked with cognitive function [5].

Probiotic supplements can help support microbial balance by enhancing levels of beneficial microbes in the gut.  Eating fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, yoghurt, and kimchee on a regular basis (daily, or at least several times a week) provides a dose of naturally occurring bacteria alongside prebiotic fibre and sugars that feed the microbiome.

Strengthen your immune system

Respiratory viruses and other bugs are common for teachers and students in the autumn/winter term. Taking steps to support your immunity now may reduce the risk of catching an infection, and if you are unlucky enough to succumb, may lessen the symptoms.

Over 70% of the immune system resides in the gut.  Looking after the gut microbiome is an important step in supporting immunity.  Our gut bugs thrive on the fibre and phytonutrients found in colourful fruits and vegetables and fermented foods.  Aim for at least 5 vegetables and 2 fruits every day, plus regular servings of fermented foods.

Late summer is a good time to check vitamin D levels.  Vitamin D works alongside probiotic gut microbes to modulate the immune response and manage inflammation.  Levels of vitamin D are commonly low in the UK due to lack of sunshine.  Public health advice is for all adults and children to supplement with at least 400iu vitamin D3 per day between October and April although many people require much higher levels.  A simple pin-prick vitamin D test can help identify the right level to supplement with and a Registered Nutrition Practitioner can provide this service [hyperlink to our NT register].

Herbal remedies that may be useful for immune support include:

• Echinacea
• Ashwagandha
• Astragalus
• Andrographis
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Reishi mushroom

Summary

The start of a new term is an exciting time but one that can also be stressful and demanding. Take steps now to build positive habits around eating well, exercising regularly, and enjoying relaxation time to help strengthen your resilience to stress.  Include nutrient-rich wholefoods to give your body the building blocks it needs to handle these demands and you can enjoy better energy, brain power, and immunity for the whole school year.