Healthy Summer Sleep Habits for Teachers

You did it! You made it through another year! Once summer arrives, exhausted teachers may give in to the temptation to sleep in late or stay up late, letting the summer schedule dictate your waking times and just assuming that you’ll be all caught up and refreshed before the first day of school. But research indicates a little sleep discipline during the summer can actually improve overall health and help you sleep better year round! 

Don’t worry, no one is telling you to keep the same early wake up call you had during the school year. That would be cruel!

healthy summer sleep habits for teachers

A 2017 Harvard study found that students who had the same sleeping and waking times had higher GPA’S. Why not apply that to teachers, too? After all, it’s your hard work that helps students achieve those scores! Your brain needs to be fresh, too!

The research indicates that it’s consistency, not quantity, that will improve overall health when it comes to sleep. Going to bed at the same time every night (even if you push bedtime a little later for some extra summer fun) and setting an alarm for the same time every morning (even if it’s later than the o-dark-thirty hours of the school year) will help maintain good sleep habits you can build on when the school bell rings.

In fact, some data suggests that sleep consistency is the key to overall sleep quality AND good heart health (with diet and exercise). By sleeping and waking at consistent times, the resting heart rate goes down (yay) and your heart rate variability increases (a sign of good health.) 

to reduce blue light disruption

Use your summer schedule to build healthy sleep habits and find the sleep rhythm that feels best for you. When the first day of school begins to loom, come up with a plan to keep your healthy sleep habits while slowly shifting back your waking hours.

A few weeks before you go back to school, start shifting your sleeping and waking hour by half hour increments. Be especially cautious about screens before bed to reduce blue light disruption to help you fall asleep. This gentle shift in your schedule will help your body prepare for early mornings without waking up feeling like you’ve been hurled off a cliff. A less painful sleep transition this fall will keep you rolling strong throughout the school year!

To sum it up, “sleeping in” this summer is not the answer to your exhaustion woes. The key for bedtime is Same Time In, Same Time Out. More sleep consistency equals better health, better brain power, and feeling strong and powerful to tackle the summer… and the school year to come!

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