Teacher Burnout Challenge, Day 2: Sleep, The Essential Stress Vitamin

Teacher Burnout, Rhythm, & Balance

There’s a rhythm to everything. Have you ever really paid attention to the rhythm around you? Like the ceiling fan in your bedroom that always rocks just a little bit crooked or the printer in your office that always lays out color in an even choop choop choop.

What about the rhythm of your breathing, of the clock in your living room, or the back and forth movement of windshield wipers in the rain- have you ever noticed that the rhythms of these things? Really paid attention?

As humans, we live in a careful balance of many things: night & day, summer & winter, dinner & dessert, happiness & sadness, relaxation and stress. When one takes over too much, we will often recognize it on an external level or an internal level, and sometimes it will take time to recognize what happened, sometime maybe we only notice that something did, in fact, change.

We ended daylight savings time today where I live and let me tell you, nothing makes me feel like I got off a tire-swing like the first day without daylight savings. One hour difference of daylight changes EVERYTHING. Why? Because it disrupts our rhythm.

I’ll bet you’re feeling like 2020 has kicked you in the bahootie to the point where you’re barely keeping your head above water. But sometimes, when things get out of balance, we need to get back to the basics.

So, I know you might be thinking, ‘Trina, my life is going fine right now. It’s my WORK that’s burning me out.’ Well, friend, that may be completely true. But, it also may be completely untrue. You’re out of balance. One has overtaken the other. So let’s start with what we can control (US) and we’ll get to the balance (everything else) in a bit.

Patience, young Padawan. We’ve got all month!

Sleep- Life’s Vitamin for Stress

When you were a kid, do you remember taking vitamins? I’m not talking about the fun and fancy gummy vitamins that we have these days, I’m talking about the good ol’ fashioned Flintstone vitamins that vaguely tasted of cherries, chalk, and death.

If you’re a parent, you know that sometimes, no matter what you do, your child will not/no-way/no-how eat any green vegetable. So what do you do? You find a way to sneak it in if you can, and you supplement with vitamins when you can’t.

Teaching right now is something like that. Our life is stressful and unhealthy (it just is!) because we’re living in a pandemic. But we have a secret weapon that will help our body to offset the stress-response and act as a vitamin to supplement our immune system. Sleep.

Sleep– Easier Said than Done

How do you feel about the quantity and quality of your sleep? If you are fighting fatigue and teacher burnout, one of the first evaluations you should make begins in your bedroom. The quantity and quality of restful sleep you are experiencing is directly related to your ability to manage stress.

Sleep is our body’s time to repair and rejuvenate itself from the damage accrued in day-to-day life. How we sleep is as important as our actual need to sleep. Being able to sleep in a safe and comfortable environment, free from distractions, is key to nurturing meaningful rest periods.

Here are three ‘thieves’ that rob you of quality sleep:

Inconsistent bedtimes- Do the demands of your day dictate when you go to sleep and what time you wake up? Are you grading papers until the wee hours of the night or getting up before dawn to make sure you’re the first at school to make copies and keep your social distance?

I’ll tell you right now. These aren’t best practice for your wellbeing. They just aren’t. It may feel like, to be a good teacher, you need to work 10x harder in this season, but robbing yourself of sleep is the first way to lose control of your boundaries and balance.

Setting a designated bedtime and sticking to it will encourage you to stay focused and finish your work in the times you are awake and available, and allowing you time to spend with your family and those you care about most. Pareto’s Principle states that the time it takes us to complete a task expands or contracts to fit the time we have decided to give ourselves to finish. In this case, giving yourself a specific bedtime will ensure that what you need to get done will happen in the time prior to your bedtime. Consistency in your bedtime routine will improve your stamina and help avoid teacher burnout.

Smartphones and devices- Smartphones, televisions, iPads, and computers are all designed to help make our work easier and entertainment more accessible. The truth is, these things have no place in your bedroom. Science is proving that screen time before bed is detrimental to your quality and quantity of sleep, and the time for intimacy that you may be missing with your spouse. Consider making your bedroom a screen-free zone and a sacred space for rejuvenation.

Anxiety and worry- The connection between poor sleep and anxiety may seem like a “chicken and egg” scenario. Does lack of sleep lead to anxiety in our teaching life, or does anxiety in our teaching life cause lack of sleep? No matter the cause, anxiety is a thief of quality sleep. Getting serious about tackling whatever trouble may be happening in your life that is causing you to be anxious will help you find rest in the bedroom. Unfortunately, that’s between you and, well, YOU.

Here are three ways to improve your sleep quality to help balance teacher burnout:

Evening rituals- Your body is set to a rhythm. You are working in sync with calendars, clocks, and other routines that create the rhythm of your life. Your evening rituals can enhance these rhythms and get you ready for a great night’s sleep. Begin with an evening routine that is consistent, and promotes peace and harmony in your home. After work, take some time to reconnect with your spouse, help kids with homework, and prepare for the next day. Pack backpacks and place them by the door. Verify what you need to be ready for the next day and get organized. Eat a healthy dinner at the table with your family and engage together in meaningful conversation. Limit television and computer usage. Make distinctive transitions between mealtime and bedtime prep: including showers, brushing of teeth, bedtime stories, etc. Remind your kids as it nears time for each transition. Being consistent and predictable in your evening routine will reduce conflict and improve the quantity and quality of your whole family’s sleep. 

Soothing and comfortable environments- One of the best indicators of the quality and quantity of your sleep is the state of your bedroom itself. From the temperature of the room to the thread count of your sheets, the details matter. Having an environment that is free of distractions such as noise, light, or too few or too many blankets makes all the difference when it comes to your sleep. Create an environment that promotes comfort and calm, and your sleep quality will improve dramatically.

Exercise and eating well- Believe it or not, what you eat and how you exercise affects your sleep. Eating foods that are high in salt or too spicy for your digestive system during the day can affect your ability to stay in a deep sleep. Eating food too close to bedtime can also affect your quality of sleep. Drinking too much water and having to wake up multiple times to use the bathroom can break your cycle of restorative sleep and leave you feeling tired and worn-out.

Exercise is a key contributor to high-quality sleep. Cardio and muscle training are excellent ways to ensure you sleep deeper and harder. Even those with anxiety report that working out helps them fight the insomnia that worrying causes. Now, I’m NO expert when it comes to working out, but I do know that wearing out our body works when we can’t seem to wear out our mind.

Sleep is a key factor in both preventing and recovering from teacher burnout. Getting your family into an evening routine by demonstrating the importance of good sleep hygiene and of getting your sleep environment ready for bed. Right now, it feels like our work-life balance is off. It’s ok to hack the system and put the basics back in line first.

Day 2 DAILY CHALLENGE:

For the next 5 days, commit to upping something about your sleep hygiene every night to help restore your body against teacher burnout. Here are some ideas:

• Turn down the thermostat a degree or two.
• Go to bed 30 minutes earlier. Assess how you feel in the morning.
• Avoid coffee/caffeine in the mid-late afternoon.
• Read an actual book before bed.
• Keep your phone plugged in outside of your bedroom. (At minimum, get an app that locks your apps/internet after a certain time.)
• Go for a light, evening walk.
• Avoid spicy food for dinner. 

Come and join us in the 30-Day Teacher Burnout Challenge Facebook Group!