Embracing WELLBEING

It can be hard to switch o from the stresses of the classroom, but without doing so, you could experience burnout, a ecting your overall physical and mental health. Warmer weather and longer daylight hours are the perfect reason to start something new, helping you to de-stress and unwind.

Wellness

Wellness has become a buzzword in recent years, but there’s a reason why these popular practices are constantly talked about. Activities like meditation, journaling and yoga can be of great benefit to your mental health, in turn improving your sleep and how you feel on a daily basis.

Adding these practices into your routine doesn’t have to cost money, all you need is a blank notepad or the notes app on your phone, and a space in your home where you can stretch or sit.

Meditation can be as simple as practicing deep breathing, or you could use a guided mediation from YouTube (www.youtube.com), or a dedicated app like Headspace (www.headspace.com) or Calm (www.calm.com). YouTube is also a great resource for free yoga classes, with creators like Yoga with Adriene and Yoga with Kassandra providing a range of options depending on your abilities, what you want to achieve and how much time you have available.

Journaling is a great way to decompress after a long day, or to appreciate the positive things that have happened. You could use this as a chance to get your thoughts on paper and decipher them, or to bullet point happy moments or things you enjoyed at the end of the day.

Making The Switch

It is thought that doomscrolling –endlessly scrolling through social media on your phone – is bad for mental health, causing anxiety and disrupting sleep. It can also waste your time, leaving you to procrastinate instead of completing tasks. Finding new ways to fill this time can help break the habit, all while helping you relax and unwind.

You could get stuck into a popular summer read – we love Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid which has recently been adapted into a series – or even start a new tv show or podcast. Picking a podcast depends on what you want to achieve: do you want to learn something new, find a new way to digest the news, or just switch o from reality? Using the charts and categories on providers like Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com), Spotify (open.spotify.com) and Google Podcasts (podcasts.google.com) can help you find the perfect fit.

A great way to stick to a new habit is starting it with friends. You could start a book club or a weekly catch up to discuss a new podcast episode or show.

Lesson plans School talks