10 Ways To Slow Down And Sleep Well After A Long Day Of Teaching

Smaert Classroom Management: 10 Ways To Slow Down And Sleep Well After A Long Day Of Teaching

Teaching during Covid—be it online, hybrid, or in person—has brought about a whole new level of stress.

And you must find a way to combat it.

Or it will eat you up inside. It will douse that little light of yours. It will manifest itself in health problems, familial friction, and unhappiness.

Not to mention the bane of toss-n-turn insomnia.

The good news is that you don’t have to put up with it. You don’t have to stand by and watch it happen to you. With a little discipline, releasing the pressure valve isn’t so hard.

You must, however, embrace the wisdom of putting the oxygen mask on yourself first. After all, when you’re tired, irritable, and impatient, you aren’t much good to anyone.

In that spirit, what follows are ten ways to slow down, de-stress, and get a dreamy night’s sleep.

Box Breathing

The Navy SEALs famously use box breathing to calm themselves before and after missions. It clears the mind, slows the heart rate, and improves performance.

The way it works is simple: Breathe in through your nose for a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Exhale for four. Hold for four. Repeat 5-6 times or do it every couple of hours to keep stress at bay.

Breath Holds

When you breathe into the bottom half of your lungs you trigger the parasympathetic system, which causes relaxation and feelings of well-being.

But when you’re already feeling stressed-out, it isn’t easy to do.

One sure way to get yourself under control is to hold your breath after exhaling. Hold for a count of five on each exhale until your breathing becomes relaxed and you begin feeling calm.

Sunshine

Moderate exposure to the sun has many physical benefits including better immune system and stronger bones. But what many don’t know is that it’s also good for your mental health.

Sunlight can lower blood pressure (and hence calmness), improve your mood, boost brain function, and help you get more restful sleep, especially if you have daily morning exposure.

It also releases serotonin, which is the feel-good chemical. Just a few minutes a couple times a day can do wonders, especially if you’re staring at a screen for hours on end.

Walk

Any form of exercise is a powerful antidote to stress and depressive feelings. However, walking may be the best of all because it’s low impact and easily accessible.

Plus, it gets you outside and away from the stressors in your life.

Walking has been shown to lessen feelings of anxiety, stress, and depression, increase self-confidence, and improve the quality of your sleep. It’s also a potent fat-burner.

Take your daily walk after the workday is over and all those annoyances that seemed like such a big deal at the time will melt away.

Simplify

No matter what your school or district throws at you, or how much has been heaped onto your plate, you can always better deal with it by simplifying.

Take a close look at everything you’re doing—from your preparation to the content of your lessons—and shrewdly discard anything and everything you don’t absolutely need.

For the average teacher, there is a lot to get rid of. After making your cuts, see if you can go even further, simpler. Uncomplicate down to the coal and ice.

Not only will you be happier and calmer, but you’ll be a better teacher.

Decide First

This is one of the most powerful stress relieving strategies I’ve ever come across. And though incredibly simple, it works like magic. Here’s how it works:

Before school begins, find a comfortable chair to sit in. Close your eyes. Breathe deeply and let your mind go blank. Just sit and enjoy the nothingness.

When the time feels right you’re going to make a very important decision:

“No matter what happens today, I will remain calm both inside and out.”

Amazingly, you will. You may have the best day of teaching since the pandemic began. Do it every day, and over time, being calm will be a habit you couldn’t change if you tried.

Visualize

You may want to combine this strategy with the one above as well as with one of the breathing exercises. The way it works is that you’re going to visualize yourself handling stressful situations with calmness, even pleasantness.

See your students misbehaving or technology going on the fritz, or anything else that has gotten under your skin, and then watch yourself staying cool and handling it all with aplomb.

Be the portrait of peace.

Much like decide-first strategy, and without any additional effort, when real incidents come up you’ll automatically behave the way you visualized.

Break

It doesn’t matter whether you’re in class or teaching online, it pays to take frequent breaks throughout the day in order to get away from teaching (and learning).

You can use your breaks as a social time for you and your students or to lead your class in light stretches. If it’s a bathroom or snack break, then listen to some music.

Shoot for something fun, like the music of your youth.

Frequent breaks loosen tight muscles, refresh tired minds, and remind you that teaching isn’t that important. Make each break about keeping your perspective and embracing simple moments of joy.

Start Early

One key to reducing stress is to finish your day early enough to have time to gear down. This may require you to get up earlier in the morning or, as mentioned above, simplify your work.

Nearly everyone needs several hours of downtime before going to bed. This doesn’t necessarily mean chilling out on the sofa—although it can–but you do need to get mentally away from teaching.

Read a book. Play with your kids. Work on a project. Have an, ahem, adult beverage.

The worst thing you can do is to prep for the next day of teaching in the evening. Better to be less prepared and energetic than over-prepared and in need of sleep.

Don’t Look Back

Once you’re finished for the day, it’s important that you leave it all behind until the next morning.

This takes practice and may include shutting down your computer, doing your breathing exercises, or immediately going for a walk.

Turn your attention to something else entirely as soon as possible to avoid obsessive or cycling thoughts about work. Just let it go. Having something to look forward to, no matter how simple, is key.

Treat yourself. Live your life.

An Opportunity

Marcus Aurelius, the emperor of the Roman Empire from 161-180 and stoic philosopher, believed that obstacles can be a powerful impetus for making positive changes in one’s life.

He wrote:

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.

Although not a stoic, I believe this to be true and have certainly seen its power in my own life.

However, it only works if you accept its truth rather than the alternative, which is defeat, wallowing in feeling sorry for yourself, and playing the blame game.

There is always a way.

But that way takes action. It takes discipline and commitment. It takes a refusal to accept your plight.

It takes using the hassles and obstacles as an opportunity to better yourself and overcome in spite of. It takes grabbing hold of what has everyone else so up and arms about and thriving in its midst.

It takes going over, under, and around.

To win in the end.

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17 thoughts on “10 Ways To Slow Down And Sleep Well After A Long Day Of Teaching”

  1. Thanks for this! I have been reading this and several of your books getting my room in order and this post was exactly what I needed today!

    Reply
    • I definitely needed this too! I have been feeling so overwhelmed. Along with having two preps, I am also working on my internship. No fun with having to do hybrid. Great tips! I will be putting them into practice — NOW!

      Reply
  2. Michael, I love you! You are an oasis of calm and logic in a world of chaos and confusion. All of your suggestions are golden and I would like to offer one more. Unplug from the news and social media. While we are doing our best to be good teachers for our students, we don’t need the negative messages so many sad people are putting out there. I’ve actually heard people say that teachers are lazy and they are just getting a free ride during this Covid hoax. Nope, nope, nope. I don’t need that kind of negativity right now.

    Reply
  3. Perfect timing as usual, Michael! Thank you for all you do for teachers! I think we need to hear this over & over as a reminder to put on our oxygen mask first. There are days I feel like I just can’t do this any longer. I think reading this again will help me get through. I hope…

    Reply
  4. I am with Kerri. I have been exploring a path out of teaching middle school because there are simply not enough hours in a day to accomplish all the additional tasks virtual learning heaps upon us. I wish I could leave it all behind, but admin has a different plan. Thanks, Michael. I look forward to these Saturday posts every week.

    Reply
  5. What timely wisdom, Michael! Good sleep is so important to our ability to function well and be in a good mood! I see it in my students all the time, and I need to apply these principles to myself. I also like Mary’s suggestion to unplug from social media. It’s a time suck and rarely productive or edifying. Thank you for being brave enough to tell us that less is more in teaching and that sleep is a powerful healer!

    Reply
  6. Thank you for taking the time to write this. This school year I find the need to be simple, yes, and spend more time away from those that bring my energy down. The demands of a teacher are great but to know that I prioritized what was important to me, my family and students in a given day, I am at peace.

    Reply
  7. Hi Michael,
    I am a long time reader and appreciate your weekly posts now more than ever. I am really struggling with everything that you described in this article. I work each day well past my contractual work day, but I am still turning off my computer with my work unfinished. I am not taking breaks and have little time for my hobbies or time outside. I often suffer insomnia and for the first time my life, I have chronic neck and back pain (8.5-9 hrs per day at the computer). Parents are on edge and easily angered this school year. My children are very young and require all of the rest of my energy. In a few weeks, my district will be switching from all virtual to hybrid learning. I will be expected to teach virtual and in-person students at the same time and while wearing a mask and a microphone headset (more physical discomfort). When staff raise valid concerns about how many tasks are on our plates and the limitations of our current situation, the district tells us that they understand and then they throw mandatory training at us. I have tackled many challenges during my 14 years in education, but this current situation feels like I am living in the novel Catch-22.

    Despite all this, I will try to implement your advice. It’s just beyond difficult this year and I am tired of working my tail off and clicking my mouse 500,000,000 times a day.

    Reply
  8. Such excellent advice! I’ve always thought the best plan was a good night’s sleep, and teaching face to face classes of middle school math with a mask and extra cleaning protocols leaves me ready for bed by 9. I do leave my work until the next day, but I sometimes find it hard to mentally disconnect. I will try some of your suggestions as I do enjoy the students in spite of the demands. I have also had to leave some of the less important tasks undone. Giving myself grace is key.

    Reply
  9. Hey Michael,

    You mentioned in the article that “the worst thing you can do is to prep for the next day of teaching in the evening.”

    Which part of the day do you usually prep for your lessons and how long does it usually take?

    Thanks so much Michael for the helpful advice!

    Reply
  10. Michael
    Wow! Thank you. The timing of this is perfect. I am so exhausted from all of this including starting new curriculums where our students are no where near grade level but the curriculum is expected to be taught. Expectations are so misdirected but then again that is admin. way of life. Thanks.
    Barry W.

    Reply
  11. Great! I am currently using a form of both Both. Breathing and Breath Holds. In the breath exercise, I hold my breath for a count of ten seconds and slowly breath out normally. Maybe I will experiment with both of them, and compare to tell which is the best for me. Brisk walking is always good. Some say early morning. After work sounds beneficial. I agree with setting and completing short time goals with intervening breaks build up long term progress.

    Reply

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