Feeling Tired? Exhausted even? Are you looking for ideas that will lift your energy when you feel that teacher tired overwhelm you?
You grab for caffeine and quick sugar fixes – I know about your stash of sweets in your drawer😜 – but are these really the answer?!
If you’re like me and want to take better care of yourself, with natural ways to boost your teacher energy, keep reading…
As a teacher, I know it’s glaringly obvious that TEACHING IS DRAINING (like many other service industries) and you probably ask yourself why am I so damn tired all the time? – especially when you’re working with a classroom (or screen) full of little faces that all need your attention – many at the same time!
If you’ve been a teacher for any length of time, you know it’s physically, emotionally and mentally draining to keep up with this, plus plan, mark and go to all the meetings that expected while trying to stay ‘upbeat’ all day.
It’s therefore CRUCIAL for you to watch your energy levels.
This will mean monitoring the slumps and learning how to protect your energy and actively use strategies throughout the day as well as in your ‘off’ time, to replace what’s lost and also recharge your batteries to be able to keep up with the pace of all these demands long term.
Getting yourself a bank of ways to lift yourself up and raise your vibration naturally, is super important, so you can continue to do what you love – to work with children and make a difference in their lives – without all the quick fix stimulants like coffee and sweets.
DON’T let yourself get run down and exhausted and keep the teacher-tired at bay with these 9 helpful and quick wins to naturally boost teacher energy.
1. Boost Teacher Energy with Exercise
You probably feel like exercise is not going to do if for you – especially when you already don’t even have enough energy to go take a shower after a long day at school. But research reveals that exercise will give you the endorphins you need to keep going, to help pump you up and keep you there.
Exercise is the magical antidote to exhaustion.
But instead of boring exercise ideas like the gym, find your favourite upbeat music and dance it out. Why not even do some slow stretches to iron out the crinkle you might feel from a super exhausting day.
If you’re into yoga, it can be a wonderful way to get some oxygen into your lungs with do some slow deep breathing.
Plus, there’s also walking in the fresh air or running/jogging. All wonderful uplifting activities to help raise your vibe and boost your energy, naturally.
READ HERE for a helpful article on how to include walking into an already busy teaching day.
It’s important to work smarter as a teacher to help maximize your effort. Get your FREE Working Smarter Guide HERE:
2. Boost Teacher Energy with Sunshine
Another easy way to boost teacher energy, is to soak in some sun rays.
With all the warnings of sun exposure and the damaging effects on our skin, many of us tend to shy away from this activity. But small amounts of sun can benefit our health in so many ways, particularly boosting energy – especially the early morning sun before the day is at its brightest.
Sunlight helps to boost a chemical in your brain called Seratonin, which is known to help increase energy, give you a sense of calm and make you feel positive and focussed. And if you’re like me, if you’re not getting enough sunlight, especially in the winter months, you might even notice the impacts on your mood, which is a known health complaint and in scientific terms is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but more recently known as Major Depression with Seasonal Pattern.
Does missing out on the sunshine affect you like this too?
Make sure you take some time to get those beautiful warming rays on your skin while the sun is shining and feel the natural energy boost it can give you. It only takes a few minutes to experience the vast variety of therapeutic benefits that sunshine can provide us, to support your well-being, your sleep and to help energize you.
3. Boost Teacher Energy with Sleep
Sleep is an important requirement for good health and the time you’re having good quality sleep is well known to boost your energy.
Have you ever noticed that when you’ve had very little sleep for quite a few days how drained you feel? It’s like you’re a spaced-out zombie. (Well that’s how I feel – Haha!) Or when you’ve had a great night’s sleep, you feel so energized and on top of the world.
Make sleep a priority.
Often we don’t though… we spend far too much time watching Netflix or scrolling for hours on social media.
Look to improve your sleep?
Put your phone out of your bedroom and limit the screen exposure for at least an hour before bed to get away from that dreaded ‘blue light’ that can be so damaging to your sleep cycle.
And snooze it up. Even if you have to have a cat nap/power nap after you get home from school – especially if you’re body feels exhausted – listen to the sleepy signals it gives you, and go and snuggle up in your cozy bed and get some Zeds. Your body with thank you and you’ll feel the difference in your energy levels too.
If you’re struggling with your sleep, as many teachers do, READ HERE for an article for 8 Tips to help super-stressed teachers get a better night’s sleep.
4. Boost Teacher Energy with Essential Oils
Essential oils are a terrific way to use naturally forming plant oils to lift your energy.
I love the feeling that diffusing a delicious-smelling essential oil gives to my mood, my vibe and my energy. I particularly love the combinations of lemon, lemongrass and peppermint for a powerful lift.
Herbs oils such as peppermint and others from the citrus family, with there fresh scents, are all well-known to have the power to invigorate the spirit, enliven your senses and boost energy.
With just a few drops of these energising essential oils in your diffuser, it’s an easy way to include them into your day.
Why not give essential oils a try for yourself and check out the natural energy-boosting benefits they can bring to your life.
5. Boost Teacher Energy with Supplements
There seems to be two types of people when it comes to supplementation – either you believe nutrients should come from your food only, or you think it’s important to support your nutritional intake through additional means.
Well, I’m from the group that understands the benefits of taking supportive natural sources in tablet form.
I’ve experienced first-hand, that just by taking minimal amounts of supplementation from a daily multi-vitamin, how helpful it is and I know full well, many of us have diets that can be less than healthy.
I know too, that as a busy teacher, mum, partner, grandmother and all the other hats I wear as a modern woman, and having a lifestyle that drains my energy, I can get help from supplementing with vitamins and minerals.
So to get to basics, I honestly swear by a daily Multivitamin and Vitamin B supplement as a minimum and when I’m feeling really drained (and with the advice from my medical practitioner), I also take additional Iron, Vitamin D and Magnesium. These are wonderful sources of natural energy.
In recent days, I’ve found some other amazing herbs called adaptogens that do wonders to boost your energy too. Things like Ginseng, Ginkgo and Rhodiola are all proven to be wonderful sources of energizing power through the hard and draining times in my life and I don’t think I would have gotten through my burnout year without them.
Another interesting ancient medicinal herb I’ve been reading about, called Ashwagandha, apparently is the number one source of support for mental fatigue, as well as fatigue from exercise. Wow! sounds like an awesome supplement to try to boost teacher energy and one I’m considering trying.
Taking better care of yourself is necessary to thrive as a busy teacher. Get your FREE Working Smarter Guide HERE, which will walk you through the 4 key areas to work sustainably as a classroom teacher.
6. Boost Teacher Energy by Controlling Stress
Stress is well-known for depleting our energy, because of the flight or fight response that’s engaged while under stressful situations. It’s important to know that while stress is a normal part of life, it’s not normal to experience chronic stress and feel the acute effects of continually staying on high alert.
Controlling stress is a complex topic, but to make some improvements it’s crucial to consider where your stress is coming from. And you might be yelling back at the screen – ‘It comes from school!’ And I’m all too aware of this. But what I mean by this, is are there any particular activities or situations that you know raises your stress levels? Because without this awareness, it can be difficult to make the changes necessary.
After you are more enlightened about your stressors, now you need to learn how to bring your body back from the stress responses into a state of calm and relaxation. If you can learn to do this, your body won’t be experiencing the daily drain and help with your energy levels.
For more reading on how to manage your stress, these articles will be a great start for you:
- Mindfulness for Teachers: 9 Easy Activities to Stay Calm in a Stressful Job
- 15 Easy Stress Management Techniques to Calm the Mind and Body
- An Easy Way to Relieve Teacher Stress (You Won’t Believe How Simple it is!)
7. Boost Teacher Energy with Energizing Foods
We all know that coffee will give you a quick energy boost, but it’s not beneficial to continue to rely on caffeine for any energy fix – It’s much better to get the natural authentic energy that only beautiful clean healthy foods can give you.
So there are a bunch of really great foods you can include in your diet that will give you a boost to your energy. According to Healthline, in an article called 27 Food That Give You More Energy, there’s a variety of food sources to lift your energy and pick you up from a slump or help maintain your alertness.
In this article, it states the number one best food for boosting energy is bananas. This is because bananas are a powerhouse of natural carbohydrates, vitamin B6 and potassium – all really good to boost your energy.
Fatty fish is also considered a top energizing food. Fish like, “salmon and tuna are good sources of protein, fatty acids, and B vitamins, making them great foods to include in your diet.”
8. Boost Teacher Energy by Having Some Fun in your day
Sometimes as adults we forget to have fun in our lives. We can often feel overwhelmed with all of our responsibilities of ‘adulting’ and don’t make time for enjoyment. But remembering to include fun, especially in your working day, can really help lighten the load and boost your energy – and just makes your feel good.
As a teacher, it’s super-easy to make your school day more fun (I had let this slide for too long). But remembering to enjoy it with your kids and actively be mindful about appreciating the small moments of fun that can be had with children, is key.
Be light-hearted and have a joke with your students. Include it in the learning games and get involved yourself. Why not also jump onto Youtube and show some funny clips or have a joke of the day – You will love it, just as much as they will.
9. Boost Teacher Energy with Gratefulness
An awesome technique to really lift your spirits and mindset, plus your energy levels, is to intentionally practise the art of gratefulness. Having a spirit of gratefulness comes when you look around your life and highlight all the things you’re truly thankful for – you know all the beautiful blessings that sometimes take for granted when we’re busy.
An easy way to do get the whole ‘being thankful thing’ going, is to start gratitude journaling. If you want to know more about this technique, read my post called: Learn How to Improve Teacher Happiness with Gratitude Journaling. I’ve found it a hugely helpful way to boost my energy, pull me out of negativity and feel much lighter.
I love this practice so much, that I’ve incorporated it into my morning routine, which is helping to build an authentic sense of happiness in my life. I’d thoroughly recommend it to you too.
Summing up – Ways to Naturally Boost Teacher Energy
I hope you loved the variety of natural ways to help boost teacher energy here, and decide to experiment with one or more of these. I know you know that it’s really important to keep your battery full, especially over a long school year, and I hope these suggestions will help. Good luck!
And before you go, don’t forget to get your FREE Working Smarter Guide to help you work sustainably in the busy world of teaching:
Take care
Michelle x
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References:
Essential Oils Ancient Medicine by Dr Josh Axe, Ty Bollinger & Jordan Ruben, 2016
Disclaimer: This article discusses easy ways to deal with normal tiredness and the lack of energy that comes from dealing with the demands of the classroom, but if you’re feeling more serious fatigue, please go and see your trusted medical professional. I am not a doctor and all suggestions made are my personal opinion and do not form a diagnosis or medical treatment.
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