Let’s face it! Work can be stressful! The days are often packed with never-ending to-do list items. Stress can affect our sleep, our ability to cope with day-to-day activities, and even our health. Positive benefits can from practicing stress reduction tips and eating well.

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Personal Story

The stresses I face as a preschool teacher are two-fold. The most obvious stress is teaching and caring for the needs of nineteen 3-year-olds for six to seven hours a day. Another kind of stress is meeting deadlines of daily and weekly parent communication, monthly website blurbs, doing weekly lesson plans, writing weekly class newsletters, and keeping a room prepped and cleaned each day. I try to take some time to destress throughout my work day.

De-stressing Tips

Simple de-stressors to do while at work:

• Deep breathing- To do this, try this technique I use with my preschoolers: smell the flower, blow out the candle.
• Exercise- Take a bathroom break to get up and move and to do a gentle stretch somewhere along the way.
• Meditation- In a quiet moment, think of a calm place you enjoy like basking in the sun at the beach or wandering through a mountain meadow.
• Gratitude- Say thank you to a co-worker or a child.
• Time management- Plan your day, every morning. Ask yourself what your biggest priority is and when you want to accomplish it. Work towards starting early on projects. By giving yourself a cushion, you will not be as stressed out when something throws a wrench in your plans.

Nutrition

Eat nutritious, wholesome food during your lunch break. The best way to success is to pack your lunch the evening before, so you can logically plan a balanced menu.

• Protein- a serving of chicken, turkey, tuna, ham, etc.
• Veggies- cucumbers, sweet bell peppers, etc.
• Carbohydrates- tortilla chips, whole grain crackers, whole grain bread, carrots, potato, etc.
• Fruit- strawberries, blueberries, apple, grapes, etc.

Try to keep your blood sugar even by eating mostly low glycemic foods. Don’t grab that doughnut you see on the breakroom counter. It will detour your plan to eat foods that lead to a healthy stress response.

Action

Pack a nutritious lunch and decide which stress-reduction tip you will try. Hopefully, you’ll have a better, less stressful day!

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. How do you destress at work?