7 Tips for Maintaining a Happy, Healthy Life While Working in the Classroom

Educators have the extremely important job of shaping the minds of our future. From teaching reading skills to keeping students from getting too rowdy to making lessons plans, teaching is more than a full-time job. This might mean you don’t feel as though you have the time to prioritize your personal health and nutrition. But for your students to thrive, you have to thrive, too! Here are seven tips for maintaining a healthy, happy life while working in the classroom:

1. Eat breakfast. Starting your day with a healthy meal can help you keep that energy level up through the hours of teaching to come. Try a healthy, filling breakfast like yogurt, fruit, or eggs.
2. Get enough sleep! Lack of sleep weakens the immune system, and every educator knows being around a large group of students every day means more exposure to germs and more susceptibility to seasonal illnesses.
3. Pack your own lunch. This will give you total control over what you eat, and will mean you’re not left scrambling to find something in a hurry, like unhealthy fast food. If you’re struggling to think of a new lunch to prepare every day, here’s a list of healthy packed lunch ideas you can use for inspiration!
4. Get enough regular bathroom breaks. Being in charge of a classroom leaves little time during the day to take sufficient bathroom breaks, but not going enough can lead to bladder infections, urinary tract infections, and incontinence. Try to get somebody to monitor your students while you use the bathroom, and offer to monitor the students of other teachers while they do the same.
5. Have small, healthy snacks throughout the day to give you energy. See these healthy snack suggestions for an afternoon boost!
6. Take time for yourself. Burnout can be a real possibility when you’re always working, and as an educator, there’s ALWAYS something to do at school. Be sure to give yourself enough time away from work, and try to take 30 minutes to an hour every day to do something that you enjoy. Take a brisk walk, read a book, do some knitting, whatever you like to do!
7. EXERCISE! Getting enough exercise every week is key to maintaining good health. If possible, don’t wait until you go home to get that exercise in. Find somewhere around school where you can take a walk right after classes are done. That way you’re more likely to consistently get in that much-needed cardio! Also, consider finding another teacher to work out with, so you can hold each other accountable. Or, if no one has already coordinated workout classes right in the gym after school, find a parent or local instructor who will teach a fitness class a couple days a week.

Maggie Wagner is the marketing and communications coordinator for IT’S TIME TEXAS. IT’S TIME TEXAS empowers Texans to lead healthier lives and build better communities.

Do you work hard to stay healthy during the school year? Share your favorite tips below!

Not an ATPE member? Join today to become part of Texas’s largest educators’ group.