1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:10,119 Welcome to the Teachers Need Teachers podcast, where we help new and beginning teachers 2 00:00:10,199 --> 00:00:16,120 navigate through those crazy first years of teaching so you can maintain your sanity and 3 00:00:16,399 --> 00:00:27,519 personal life. Here's your host, him Lapree. Welcome to the Teachers Need 4 00:00:27,559 --> 00:00:32,679 Teachers podcast, the podcast for teachers that don't want to just survive teaching but 5 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:38,039 actually thrive. So today I'm going to be talking about an episode that pretty 6 00:00:38,119 --> 00:00:42,560 much nobody's asking about if the one is really searching for it or talking about 7 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:45,880 it in the education space, because I don't think that they're really thinking about 8 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,439 it until it's pretty much too damn lee. To say that teaching is a 9 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:56,439 stressful job is such an understatement, as crazy as it may sound, I 10 00:00:56,520 --> 00:01:00,159 kind of liken teaching to like being the president of a country. What do 11 00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,319 you think I mean? Just follow me here. Your classroom is like its 12 00:01:03,359 --> 00:01:10,079 own state or country, and the needs and once of your classroom are your 13 00:01:10,079 --> 00:01:14,000 concern, but also the needs and once of all the other states and countries 14 00:01:14,079 --> 00:01:17,480 they kind of encroach on you just trying to do your job, meaning the 15 00:01:17,599 --> 00:01:22,159 needs and ones of parents and admin and the district and the community, things 16 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,920 like that. And also in the same way of being a president of a 17 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,239 country. It can really take a toll on your body. I mean, 18 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,439 if you go back and compare the before and afters of previous presidents who served 19 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:40,599 two terms, you'll see that they aged a lot faster than your average person 20 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:46,439 would in eight years. So today I'm going to be discussing how to slow 21 00:01:46,519 --> 00:01:49,799 down aging as a teacher so you don't have to play catch up later on 22 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:53,480 in life when you kind of look at yourself in the mirror and wondered what 23 00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,840 happened. So just a little bit of background here, I am forty five. 24 00:01:59,359 --> 00:02:02,879 Hoops, I'm gonna turn forty five this summer. I just round up. 25 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:07,280 I always round up, And somehow I had the foresight since my twenties 26 00:02:07,439 --> 00:02:10,879 even to take care of myself early on. So here are some of the 27 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:17,360 things that I've done to not only stay looking younger longer, but also saying 28 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:23,439 relatively healthy despite the stressors of teaching. Okay, so the first part of 29 00:02:23,479 --> 00:02:28,280 this, obviously is taking care of your body. Okay, you have to 30 00:02:28,319 --> 00:02:32,319 take care of this vessel. Your skin nWay, is the biggest organ on 31 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,120 your body. So we're gonna talk about that first, because that's the part 32 00:02:36,159 --> 00:02:38,599 that you notice the most in terms of aging. So the first hit that 33 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:43,879 I have for you is sunscreen. And I know that you've heard this before 34 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,039 and Edward's talking about how you should always use sunscreen, But you need to 35 00:02:47,080 --> 00:02:52,319 always use sunscreen. And here's why. The sun's raise the UVA and UVB 36 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:57,439 rays. They are pretty much like chipping away at your skin, and it's 37 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,800 basically chipping away at the collagen and your skin, which starts to kind of 38 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,159 dry up, and that's what causes you to a look older. The collagen 39 00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:07,639 is what keeps your skin looking pump and keeping new looking young. And so 40 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:14,159 if you expose your skin without any kind of a barrier called sunscreen, then 41 00:03:14,319 --> 00:03:16,639 it's going to cause more damage. So the number one thing that I can 42 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:22,080 tell you in terms of anti aging is sunscreen. And getting a good sunscreen 43 00:03:22,159 --> 00:03:25,400 is pretty much a journey because the sunscreen of might back in the day, 44 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,879 peopre really greasy and thick, and no one really wanted to use them on 45 00:03:29,919 --> 00:03:32,759 their face. I didn't anyway, but not enough. I only used it 46 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:36,039 like if I knew I was going to go to the beach or be out 47 00:03:36,039 --> 00:03:38,840 in the sun or something like that for an extended period of time, which 48 00:03:38,879 --> 00:03:42,680 is pretty common when you live in San Diego. But I did use sunscreen, 49 00:03:42,879 --> 00:03:45,840 and it took a while before I found one that I really really liked, 50 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:50,719 And after spending money on it and finding one that I can bear, 51 00:03:50,919 --> 00:03:53,680 I use it all the time, even inside the house, because I don't 52 00:03:53,680 --> 00:03:57,360 know if you know this, you might not know this sun gets through your 53 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:02,159 windows too, So ahead and take the time to find a sunscreen that doesn't 54 00:04:02,159 --> 00:04:04,960 feel, you know, greasy on you, or maybe you have really dry 55 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:10,080 skin, so then having more of that moisturizing feeling isn't such a big deal. 56 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,840 What I love about Amazon or even like Target, actually a lot of 57 00:04:13,919 --> 00:04:15,920 drug stories, you can return things, so you can try something out, 58 00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,240 and then you can return it if you don't like it, if it causes 59 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:24,279 any kind of irritation or it causes like some sunscreens they like make your face 60 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,959 kind of look lighter, and then like when you take a picture, it 61 00:04:26,959 --> 00:04:30,319 looks like there's this white cast over your face. And so you just have 62 00:04:30,399 --> 00:04:33,839 to find the sunscreen that works for you. And I'll link in the description 63 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:39,759 some of the ones that I use religiously. Again, I use them even 64 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:42,720 when i'm just going to stay at home. I use them even on a 65 00:04:42,759 --> 00:04:46,639 sunny day, on a rainy day. I just pretty much make a habit 66 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,639 out of it. So I'm going to link to those below. I also 67 00:04:48,879 --> 00:04:54,040 don't forget about things like my net. I don't forget about the tops of 68 00:04:54,079 --> 00:04:56,639 my hands. I mean, you, guys, if you are like a 69 00:04:56,639 --> 00:04:59,560 little bit younger, like in your twenties and thirties, you probably still have 70 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,240 like smooth hands, right, and you don't really maybe see any veins or 71 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,079 anything like that. But as you get older, because if you think about 72 00:05:06,079 --> 00:05:10,079 when you're driving and you put your hands up on the steering wheel, all 73 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:13,759 the sun is getting to the top of your hands, and so that's actually 74 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:15,800 one of the places that shows your aging. First you start to get these 75 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:19,439 spots on there, and then the skin starts to get really thin on there, 76 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,279 and then you can start to really see your veins. And so if 77 00:05:23,319 --> 00:05:26,480 you put sunscreen on the top, sue your hands. And some people are 78 00:05:26,519 --> 00:05:29,120 like, Okay, Kim, this is a little bit excessive, but it's 79 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,759 really hard to fix it later rather than being preventive. Now, I actually 80 00:05:32,800 --> 00:05:36,439 have gloves that I wear in the car, and I have a sunshade that 81 00:05:36,519 --> 00:05:41,279 I put on my window because on the driver's side, all that sun's coming 82 00:05:41,319 --> 00:05:45,240 here, and so you'll actually see yourself aging faster on your left side of 83 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,199 your face, unless you tend to be the passenger, then we'll be the 84 00:05:47,319 --> 00:05:50,600 right side of your face. But I put a sunscreen there, and I 85 00:05:50,639 --> 00:05:54,680 have driving gloves. And I had a friend that was like, Kim, 86 00:05:54,759 --> 00:05:58,160 you are so Asian because I had all of this sun protection. I'm like, 87 00:05:58,279 --> 00:06:00,360 yeah, but check me out when I'm seven and people still think that 88 00:06:00,399 --> 00:06:03,560 I'm in my fifties. So I know. Maybe you don't want to do 89 00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:08,439 something that extreme like putting on gloves or putting sunscreen on the tops of your 90 00:06:08,439 --> 00:06:11,319 hands, But if you can at least get up on your face and your 91 00:06:11,439 --> 00:06:15,360 neck, don't forget about your neck, then that will go so far in 92 00:06:15,439 --> 00:06:19,000 terms of preventing your face from aging quickly, Especially if you live in a 93 00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:21,959 sunny place or you really like to be out in the sun a lot. 94 00:06:23,079 --> 00:06:26,480 You got to wear sunscreen, and apparently we're supposed to be reapplying it every 95 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,839 two hours. I will admit that I don't do that. I just don't 96 00:06:30,839 --> 00:06:32,720 think about it to do that every two hours. Especially because I'm inside my 97 00:06:32,759 --> 00:06:38,439 classroom. So even just getting one layer on a good thick layer SPF fifty 98 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,000 or more your goal. Okay, So the second thing in terms of taking 99 00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:46,279 care of your skin is retinal. So when I was a teenager, I 100 00:06:46,319 --> 00:06:48,600 started using retin a I don't know if you guys have heard of that for 101 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:53,560 acne, because oh boy, my skin was so so bad, and so 102 00:06:53,639 --> 00:06:58,279 I used retina ever since I was like sixteen, and I actually haven't stopped 103 00:06:58,399 --> 00:07:01,879 using it. And that is something that really helps your skin out in terms 104 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:06,639 of keeping your pores from being blocked and keeping the collagen in your skins. 105 00:07:06,759 --> 00:07:11,959 That again, it doesn't like dry out, well I wouldn't say dry out, 106 00:07:11,959 --> 00:07:14,920 but it doesn't make it so that your face starts to wrinkle up and 107 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:17,920 sink in. If you think of collagen, it's like a grape versus if 108 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,519 you didn't have a lot of collagen, it would be like a prune or 109 00:07:20,519 --> 00:07:25,120 a reason. Right, So you want to keep that collagen in your skin. 110 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:29,360 There are other people on like TikTok and YouTube who are a lot better 111 00:07:29,399 --> 00:07:31,680 at explaining how retinal works, and I follow a lot of them. But 112 00:07:31,839 --> 00:07:35,519 the point is you want to start using retinal probably like in your thirties. 113 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:39,959 I started early only because of acne, But if I didn't have acne, 114 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:43,079 if I had started in my thirties, I still would have had the same 115 00:07:43,120 --> 00:07:46,319 effects. And if you aren't listening to this until you're later on in life, 116 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:50,600 you can still get the benefits of retinal, especially treat no tretton no 117 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:56,839 when that's the medical prescription grade stuff that's a little bit harsh, a little 118 00:07:56,839 --> 00:07:59,639 bit a lot, a bit harsher in your skin, but you're going to 119 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,120 have faster effects than if you use the over the counter drug store ret tinel. 120 00:08:03,279 --> 00:08:07,680 But still using either form will help keep your skin turning over so that 121 00:08:07,839 --> 00:08:11,639 the stuff that's on top, that's like the dead skin that's going to come 122 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,199 off, and that'll keep like recycling the good skin, and that I'll make 123 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:20,160 it so that you don't really see as many wrinkles. So like I don't 124 00:08:20,199 --> 00:08:22,720 have any kind of a filter on me right now, if you go onto 125 00:08:22,920 --> 00:08:26,360 the video on YouTube, unless you're watching this on YouTube, I turned off 126 00:08:26,399 --> 00:08:30,680 from a camera filter, and I have very few wrinkles. I have no 127 00:08:30,759 --> 00:08:35,519 crow's feet. I have like a couple lines here, like the sides of 128 00:08:35,559 --> 00:08:41,000 my mouth nose area. I do have my little like frown lines here, 129 00:08:41,080 --> 00:08:43,759 but they're not as deep as they could be, and a lot of that 130 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:48,000 it's because of the retinal that I use and because of the sunscreen that I 131 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:52,799 use. So those together are a powerhouse. And retinal you only use at 132 00:08:52,919 --> 00:08:56,799 night because the sun degrades it so doesn't really work that well. So you 133 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,440 use the retinaal retina at night, and then you use the sunscreen during the 134 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,919 day because retina also makes you more susceptible to sunburn. So if you're gonna 135 00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:07,720 use retin all you have, use sunscreen. If you refuse to use sunscreen, 136 00:09:07,759 --> 00:09:11,240 boat use retinal because you'll just get sunburned and that'll just make your wrinkle 137 00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:15,080 even faster. So just think about that. But I highly recommend retinal. 138 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:18,720 So the next thing that I do so that I don't eat very quickly is 139 00:09:18,879 --> 00:09:24,000 I don't smoke anything anything. So you know, I know that like in 140 00:09:24,039 --> 00:09:28,240 many states marijuana is legal, but I don't smoke that, I don't vape, 141 00:09:28,399 --> 00:09:31,960 I don't smoke cigarettes. And if you do, I mean you already 142 00:09:33,000 --> 00:09:35,120 know like the whole like mung cancer thing, and you already know about like 143 00:09:35,240 --> 00:09:37,840 you know how it affects your body. I don't need to tell you that. 144 00:09:37,879 --> 00:09:39,919 I'm not going to lecture you about that, but I will tell you 145 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:46,600 that you will age voice as fast is anybody else because you're smoking because of 146 00:09:46,639 --> 00:09:50,039 the chemicals in the smoke that comes out. They just have a really bad 147 00:09:50,080 --> 00:09:54,720 effect on your skin and the shape that your mouth makes when you're smoking, 148 00:09:54,799 --> 00:09:58,519 and it causes like these wrinkles around the sides of your mouth, and so 149 00:09:58,759 --> 00:10:03,120 you'd want to think about that. In addition to obviously what's happening inside your 150 00:10:03,120 --> 00:10:05,080 body. You're going to notice that people who have smoked a really long time 151 00:10:05,159 --> 00:10:09,559 they h a lot faster. It's just a fact, and it's really hard 152 00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,440 to prevent that because of the double toll of the internal stuff that's happening from 153 00:10:13,519 --> 00:10:18,639 smoking and the external stuff that's happening from the chemicals that are attacking your skin. 154 00:10:18,759 --> 00:10:22,879 How similarly, something that also can make you age faster if you do 155 00:10:22,919 --> 00:10:28,159 this in excess is drinking alcohol, not water. Alcohol. So I mean, 156 00:10:28,279 --> 00:10:31,840 technically alcohol is a poison. And I know that some of you are 157 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,799 like, you cannot take my wine away from me. Him his job is 158 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:37,600 too stressful, And I understand that you know, there are also studies that 159 00:10:37,679 --> 00:10:41,960 say that a glass of wine has really good effects on your body, but 160 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,639 doing that in excess any kind of binging, it's actually really dehydrating. You 161 00:10:46,679 --> 00:10:52,600 need hydration in order for all of your organs to work well, including your 162 00:10:52,639 --> 00:10:56,960 skin. So if you're someone who like is so stressed off from teaching that 163 00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:00,639 you go home and you binge drink every night, that's just to think about 164 00:11:00,679 --> 00:11:05,399 because that's going to also make your body age faster. So if you can 165 00:11:05,799 --> 00:11:09,200 keep that down to like a glass of wine a night or a beer at 166 00:11:09,279 --> 00:11:13,159 night, and just like minimize the amount that you do drink, that's going 167 00:11:13,200 --> 00:11:16,720 to also help it so that you age slower. I'm not telling you not 168 00:11:16,799 --> 00:11:20,440 to drink. I'm saying minimize the amount that you do. Similarly, hydration 169 00:11:20,519 --> 00:11:24,559 already mentioned this, like you have to drink a ton of water. I 170 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:26,759 don't know how teachers cannot drink a lot of water. We do so much 171 00:11:26,799 --> 00:11:31,200 talking, so much talking that I just feel like if you don't drink enough, 172 00:11:31,519 --> 00:11:35,279 not only is it not good for your body because your body needs hydration, 173 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:39,200 but also it's definitely not good for your skin. You'd be amazed, 174 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:41,679 like if you decide that you're going to drink like a gallon day, like 175 00:11:41,720 --> 00:11:43,159 some people can manage that. If you can drink a gallonta day, you're 176 00:11:43,159 --> 00:11:48,000 going to see huge benefits in your skin. And I'm not even exaggerating huge, 177 00:11:48,039 --> 00:11:52,000 huge, huge benefits. Okay. Now, I don't mean like just 178 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:56,000 liquids, So I'm not saying a gallon of liquid including mountain dew and soda, 179 00:11:56,120 --> 00:11:58,720 no, no, no, I mean water, maybe iced tea or 180 00:11:58,759 --> 00:12:01,879 just tea in general. You can add that to water things that are healthy 181 00:12:01,919 --> 00:12:05,799 for you, like tea and water. Otherwise it's probably not helping you in 182 00:12:05,879 --> 00:12:11,480 terms of hydration, So go ahead and consider increasing them out that you drink. 183 00:12:11,559 --> 00:12:13,440 I mean, you don't have to quite get to a gallon. I 184 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:16,120 know that's really hard for some people. I have like my water bottle here 185 00:12:16,159 --> 00:12:20,039 that I'm showing on my video, and I drink at least two or three 186 00:12:20,039 --> 00:12:24,399 of these a day. Plus I also have like some other beverages that I 187 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,639 drink, like protein drinks and things like that. I make a smoothie in 188 00:12:26,679 --> 00:12:30,720 the morning. But you just definitely want to stay hydrated, and that's going 189 00:12:30,799 --> 00:12:33,480 to slow down the rink link because you want to keep doing these things that 190 00:12:33,519 --> 00:12:37,720 will keep your skin plump so that it doesn't kind of like dry out. 191 00:12:37,759 --> 00:12:41,399 And again they give a grape or a plum versus a prune. You have 192 00:12:41,480 --> 00:12:43,519 to keep things hydrated if you want them to stay plumped. And so that's 193 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:48,679 inside and out. Okay, the next thing in terms of taking care of 194 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:52,799 your body so that it's the aging process slows down. Kind I don't need 195 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:54,639 to tell you this, but exercise. You've heard this. I'm not going 196 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:58,559 to give you a lecture on how to exercise, what exercises you should be 197 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:03,600 doing, but basically getting your heart rate up, I'm getting that blood pumping. 198 00:13:03,759 --> 00:13:07,279 When you become sedentary, that also makes it hard for your body to 199 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,279 function properly to get the blood going where it needs to. It can lead 200 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,320 to things like hypertension, you know, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol 201 00:13:15,360 --> 00:13:18,120 and things like that. So even if you're just like walking your dog, 202 00:13:18,159 --> 00:13:20,600 if you have a dog, walking your dog twice a day, or just 203 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:24,440 like taking a walk during your lunch break, that can really help in terms 204 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:28,919 of keeping your body more youthful and functioning better so that you don't age as 205 00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:31,679 quickly. I mean, if you think about it like there are times when 206 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,679 I have to like squat down and pick something off the ground, or I 207 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,039 have to have store and shelves that are low and I have to bend down 208 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:41,840 and get things out. If you're not moving enough, if you're not staying 209 00:13:41,919 --> 00:13:48,039 limber and keeping your body active, that stuff hurts like it hurts after a 210 00:13:48,080 --> 00:13:50,759 while. Even at forty five, there are times that I'm like, you 211 00:13:50,759 --> 00:13:52,840 know, I haven't worked out in a few days, and I can feel 212 00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:56,759 that. I can definitely feel that, So I'm considered just adding some exercise 213 00:13:56,919 --> 00:14:01,960 to your routine. Again, I'm not telling you to join a gym or 214 00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:05,120 a yok class or plodies or anything like that, not that I have anything 215 00:14:05,159 --> 00:14:07,799 against those, but I work out at home because I just can't be bothered 216 00:14:07,840 --> 00:14:11,240 to leave my house to do that kind of thing. But that's stuffing's going 217 00:14:11,279 --> 00:14:15,000 to help keep your body functioning better. I'm not talking about weight loss or 218 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:16,840 anything like that. It's just going to keep your body functioning better. Also 219 00:14:16,919 --> 00:14:22,840 want to add to that, obviously, is diet. You definitely want to 220 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:26,519 eat things that are going to nourish you. And as we get older, 221 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:28,759 I've done a lot of research on this. As we get older, your 222 00:14:28,799 --> 00:14:35,120 protein needs are more important than your carbohydrate needs. I'm not telling you Yoketo 223 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,519 or Atkins or anything like that, because I don't do that. Your girl 224 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,120 needs some rice and bread and chocolate. I need that kind of stuff. 225 00:14:43,159 --> 00:14:48,120 But my point is I prioritize protein first before vegetables, before anything else. 226 00:14:48,399 --> 00:14:52,559 Every male, I'm thinking about what is my source of protein, because from 227 00:14:52,600 --> 00:14:56,600 what I've researched, you need protein to maintain muscle. And one of the 228 00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:01,559 things that happens as we get older is muscle loss and muscle loss later on 229 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:05,559 in life. Also, you know, in conjunction with bone loss can lead 230 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:09,159 to getting injured more easily. And so what we want to do is we 231 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:13,159 want to maintain our muscle as much as possible as we get older. Am 232 00:15:13,159 --> 00:15:16,039 I telling you to lift weights? I think it's a really really good idea. 233 00:15:16,159 --> 00:15:20,159 But the point is if you prioritize protein, you're going to lose your 234 00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:24,840 muscle a lot slower. If you prioritize protein and you lift weights, well, 235 00:15:24,879 --> 00:15:28,519 then you know you can pretty much just like maintain your muscle. Doesn't 236 00:15:28,519 --> 00:15:31,519 necessarily mean you're going to gain muscle, but you can at least maintain it, 237 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:35,159 which is really good as you get older, like especially when we get 238 00:15:35,159 --> 00:15:37,639 into like our six season stuff. You know, when we retire, we 239 00:15:37,679 --> 00:15:39,360 want to be able to move around and go travel and you know, live 240 00:15:39,360 --> 00:15:43,960 it up after being such good teachers and like giving so much of ourselves to 241 00:15:45,039 --> 00:15:48,240 our students. So if you want to maintain your body so that you can 242 00:15:48,279 --> 00:15:50,919 go and like be crazy and take salsa lessons when you're sixty five or something 243 00:15:50,960 --> 00:15:54,720 like that. So proper diet meaning prioritize protein of course, you know, 244 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:58,200 vegetables, and they want you to not eat that much processed foods. I 245 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:02,440 would be hypocrite to say not to eat a lot of processed foods because your 246 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,519 girl likes are baked goods. I love my rice, although that's not really 247 00:16:06,559 --> 00:16:10,840 processed. But again I prioritize protein always. And of course the last part 248 00:16:10,879 --> 00:16:14,200 in terms of taking care of your body is sleep. I wish I could 249 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:15,960 be better at this. I would love to get eight hours of sleep at 250 00:16:17,039 --> 00:16:21,200 night. I probably could, but I would love to so I get between 251 00:16:21,279 --> 00:16:25,000 six and seven hours at night. I know some people who get a lot 252 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:30,120 less because they're up late doing work, social media, whatever. But set 253 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:33,200 yourself a bedtime and stick to that now. The reason I don't get a 254 00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,679 lot of sleep, I'm going to be honest, is because I get up 255 00:16:36,679 --> 00:16:40,480 at four in the morning to work out. I know that sounds crazy, 256 00:16:40,639 --> 00:16:45,840 but I have to prioritize exercise because I kind of have like health factors that 257 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,080 make me more susceptible to things like stroke, Like I have hyplood pressure and 258 00:16:49,759 --> 00:16:56,519 cholesterol and things like that, So exercising helps me keep any kind of heart 259 00:16:56,519 --> 00:17:00,000 disease away. And I have to make sure that I go to bed by 260 00:17:00,159 --> 00:17:03,120 in time so that I can get at least six hours of sleep. So 261 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:06,079 usually I'm in bed between like nine thirty and ten, so I can get 262 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:07,960 my six hours of sleep. I would love to get eight, but I 263 00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:11,480 also know that by the time they get home from school, I just don't 264 00:17:11,519 --> 00:17:15,599 have it in me to work out. So sleep is really important. You 265 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,400 can definitely feel it when you don't get enough sleep, and you can definitely 266 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,079 see it on your face. So when you don't get enough sleep, you 267 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:27,440 know what I mean. And also can you really be there for yourself, 268 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:32,440 your family, your friends, and your students when you're not taking care of 269 00:17:32,440 --> 00:17:34,920 yourself in terms of sleep. So I have a lot of friends who have 270 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:38,000 a hard time sleeping. I don't know if you've tried things like melatonin. 271 00:17:38,279 --> 00:17:44,240 I've used that before when I've had some issues with insomnia. It's not common 272 00:17:44,319 --> 00:17:47,720 for me. I actually sleep really well, but when I have had difficulty, 273 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,119 I've used melatonin, and I'm going to also link to that in the 274 00:17:51,119 --> 00:17:52,960 description, the one that I use that doesn't give me a hangover, because 275 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,960 sometimes when you use melatonin, it can make you feel super drowsy later on, 276 00:17:57,240 --> 00:18:00,039 and so you want to test it out, like on the weekend. 277 00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:03,359 If you decide that you're going to use melatonin, I wouldn't try it on 278 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:07,920 a week day because you might be sleepy during the week. And I know 279 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:11,240 some people they like to try to make themselves go to sleep with alcohol, 280 00:18:11,279 --> 00:18:15,240 but actually studies have shown that alcohol messes with her sleep and you don't get 281 00:18:15,279 --> 00:18:18,720 as RESTful sleep like the rim dream stay sleep. And so that's why things 282 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:23,440 like melatonin or CBD can really be helpful in terms of helping you get more 283 00:18:23,440 --> 00:18:26,680 RESTful sleep. So that was taking care of your body. Now you also 284 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:30,440 want to think about managing stress obviously. I mean, our jobs are so 285 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:33,440 stressful. You guys like I'm at a point. This is my twenty first 286 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,319 year of teaching, where teaching is easy for me. I have to be 287 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,640 fully honest with you about that. But it's still stressful. In the day 288 00:18:41,680 --> 00:18:45,960 to day things, it can get really stressful. So here's how I manage 289 00:18:47,000 --> 00:18:49,599 that. How I'm at the point where in general I don't stress out about 290 00:18:49,640 --> 00:18:52,640 teaching as much as I used to. So the first thing is, I 291 00:18:52,799 --> 00:18:56,079 use my days off for mental health days, and I have no problem about 292 00:18:56,079 --> 00:18:59,960 that. I have no shame admitting that I'll just have a ditch day, 293 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:03,559 and I will make sure that I plan my lessons leading up to that day 294 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,880 that I'm going to take off, so that the substitute, no matter who 295 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,920 it is. Maybe I would even have the substitute, but whoever has to 296 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:15,160 come and cover my classes, it's relatively easy. I'm setting the substitute up 297 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,960 for success so that I can feel comfortable when I take that day off, 298 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,720 so that I'm not stressed out that like my students are pulling the posters off 299 00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:26,839 the walls and like standing on the desks and turning into lord of the flies. 300 00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:30,319 I just I make sure that I lead up to it so that I 301 00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:33,640 can have the mental health day that I deserve, and a lot of times 302 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,960 i'll do it, like on a Friday, sometimes a Monday, although it 303 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:41,000 doesn't feel as satisfying on a Monday. I also don't like to take a 304 00:19:41,039 --> 00:19:44,039 mental health day on a day that I have my planning period, because I 305 00:19:44,079 --> 00:19:47,359 feel like that's a waste. I want to have a ditch day on a 306 00:19:47,440 --> 00:19:48,519 day when I have to teach the whole day, because I only have my 307 00:19:48,519 --> 00:19:52,039 planning period every other day and it's just not worth it. If the sub 308 00:19:52,160 --> 00:19:55,839 is only teaching two out of my three classes, I want them to teach 309 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,839 all three classes. So use some of your mental health days just for you, 310 00:20:00,079 --> 00:20:02,640 and it doesn't mean you have to go like do something. You can 311 00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:06,240 just stay at home and binge watch something. Especially if you have kids and 312 00:20:06,279 --> 00:20:08,839 they're off at school or daycare, send them to school or send them to 313 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:12,640 daycare so you can have some time for yourself, or if your kids are 314 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:15,160 older, if you want to take them with you when you guys go and 315 00:20:15,279 --> 00:20:18,119 do something like they have a day off too, that's fine too. I 316 00:20:18,240 --> 00:20:22,839 have no judgment against that, but the whole point is to take some time 317 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:26,000 for yourself. Don't feel bad about it. There's so many teachers that feel 318 00:20:26,079 --> 00:20:29,279 bad about it. There have been times when sometimes it's not worth it to 319 00:20:29,319 --> 00:20:33,039 take a day off because it's so much planning and work to take that day 320 00:20:33,039 --> 00:20:34,759 off. But then I realize that's stupid. It's totally worth. It's take 321 00:20:34,799 --> 00:20:38,279 the day off to just sit and do nothing, or go and have a 322 00:20:38,279 --> 00:20:41,680 wrench. With my entrepreneur friends who can take time off whenever they want. 323 00:20:41,799 --> 00:20:45,160 I really encourage you to do this at least once or twice a year, 324 00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,720 maybe like once or twice per semester, something like that, so that you 325 00:20:48,759 --> 00:20:53,200 can refresh. And I love taking a day off on a weekday because like 326 00:20:53,319 --> 00:20:56,880 no one is out and about. It's really peaceful. It feels great knowing 327 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,559 everyone else is in school, what you're out and about. Another thing that 328 00:21:00,599 --> 00:21:06,359 I do to manage my stress is id prioritized teaching, meaning teaching is not 329 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:08,400 the center of my world. It was in the beginning, I mean I 330 00:21:08,480 --> 00:21:12,839 really was like, I'm a teacher and I do all these things and I 331 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:17,519 tell all these things for my students and my school and my community, and 332 00:21:17,759 --> 00:21:21,000 maybe you're that way too, and it feels really really good. But then 333 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,839 as time went on, I have made it less of a priority for me. 334 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:27,640 And what I do is I give my all while I'm teaching, and 335 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,880 then when I'm not teaching, I give my all to my personal life. 336 00:21:32,000 --> 00:21:36,799 Before definitely teaching and school would bleed into my personal time and my personal life. 337 00:21:36,799 --> 00:21:41,519 So then basically I was giving everybody about you know, sixty or seventy 338 00:21:41,559 --> 00:21:44,799 percent of myself because I only had so much to give. And now when 339 00:21:44,839 --> 00:21:48,480 I'm at school and i'm planning, or i'm grading, or i'm teaching, 340 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:51,559 they get one hundred percent of me. But then when I'm not teaching, 341 00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:53,880 whatever else in my life that gets one hundred percent of me. And so 342 00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:57,880 that's the work life balance is to not allow it to bleed in. Sometimes 343 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:02,920 I will grade at home, but I plan for that, so especially like 344 00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:07,039 if I have a looming deadline and I have fallen behind because I didn't use 345 00:22:07,039 --> 00:22:10,880 my planning period well, or let's just say that I gave a huge assignment, 346 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:12,839 like essays can take a long time degrade. If you're an English teacher, 347 00:22:12,880 --> 00:22:15,920 you know what I mean. And so I will block out like two 348 00:22:17,079 --> 00:22:21,200 or three hours on one Saturday or one Sunday. But that's something that I'm 349 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,400 consciously doing. It's not something that I'm doing out of guilt or panic, 350 00:22:23,519 --> 00:22:29,880 and it makes it so that I don't have to give up unintentionally my own 351 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:34,279 personal time. So deprioritizing it and focusing on yourself, but not like I 352 00:22:34,319 --> 00:22:38,000 will do a second of work outside of school. It's not that mentality. 353 00:22:38,079 --> 00:22:41,400 It's more like, you know, I don't have to. It's very like 354 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,839 laid back and matter of fact. I feel like some people get so like 355 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,440 about doing work outside of school, and I don't have that attitude about it 356 00:22:48,559 --> 00:22:52,640 because I love my job and sometimes it does deserve extra time for me. 357 00:22:52,839 --> 00:22:56,799 But I feel like my personal life, I'm going to guard that and I'm 358 00:22:56,799 --> 00:23:00,640 going to prioritize that. Also along with that is I practice gratitude all the 359 00:23:00,759 --> 00:23:07,000 time. I'm constantly marveling at how lucky for my family and my friends, 360 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:11,680 the house that I live in. I'm always grateful for my job. I 361 00:23:11,720 --> 00:23:15,559 mean, I have a job and I'm good at it. And I know 362 00:23:15,599 --> 00:23:18,440 some of you don't necessarily feel that way about your teaching job, but I 363 00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:23,680 find ways always to be grateful about teaching and my job. I'm grateful for 364 00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:29,279 my students. I'm grateful for the fact that even though my administrators aren't like 365 00:23:29,359 --> 00:23:33,039 the strongest administrators, they stay up from my way. They truly just stay 366 00:23:33,079 --> 00:23:34,920 out of my way and let me do my thing. And from what I 367 00:23:36,039 --> 00:23:40,799 read about, some of your situations that are listening or watching like your admin 368 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:45,240 are crazy. So I am truly grateful for what I have. Some of 369 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,119 the teachers in my school don't like them, and they accuse them of being 370 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:52,359 ineffective. I'm like you, guys, when our next admin comes in, 371 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:53,480 they're going to be the kind that's going to be all up in your face. 372 00:23:53,599 --> 00:23:57,079 And then what I would much prefer someone who just stays out of my 373 00:23:57,119 --> 00:24:00,759 way and lets me teach. So I'm just grateful for so much, and 374 00:24:00,799 --> 00:24:06,759 I find that when I choose to focus on that rather than on things that 375 00:24:06,799 --> 00:24:10,400 are going wrong in the world or that, you know, things that come 376 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:12,960 up in my life that are really challenging, I find that I'm a lot 377 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,680 happier. So I think that's one of the reasons why I have been able 378 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:22,000 to thrive as a teacher for twenty one years, and I haven't felt like 379 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:25,559 I have to try to survive and drag myself across the finish line. It's 380 00:24:25,599 --> 00:24:29,319 because I focus on the good and I focus on things that I can control, 381 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:32,319 and that's a huge part. I can't control a lot of things, 382 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:34,440 and so I just choose to not worry about it. And finally, one 383 00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:38,599 thing that I do to help me manage stress is meditation. And I started 384 00:24:38,640 --> 00:24:44,400 doing this during the pandemic while I was locked down in my apartment. And 385 00:24:44,480 --> 00:24:45,599 at first I was like, I can't do this, this is dumb, 386 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:49,279 and I would just fall asleep. That was the best part. I would 387 00:24:49,319 --> 00:24:52,799 just fall asleep while meditating. But you know, I used different apps, 388 00:24:52,839 --> 00:24:56,599 like the Calumn app and things like that. But then I just went on 389 00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:00,839 YouTube and I found different meditations and I kept looking for ones that really resonated 390 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,880 with me, ones where I felt really relaxed at the end, where I 391 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,880 wasn't necessarily falling asleep, although I still sometimes fall asleep. But if you 392 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:11,759 just find some that don't feel weird to you, that don't make you uncomfortable, 393 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:14,480 I don't know if you know what I mean. Like, sometimes there 394 00:25:14,519 --> 00:25:18,400 are certain ones, like guided meditations, that just make me want to turn 395 00:25:18,519 --> 00:25:22,400 it off and walk away. But I found ones that I really really like, 396 00:25:22,640 --> 00:25:26,640 and so meditating really helps you clear your mind. I'll do it between 397 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,400 fifteen to thirty minutes a night. I do mine at nights and people do 398 00:25:30,599 --> 00:25:33,839 theirs in the morning that I'm working out in the morning, So fifteen to 399 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,559 thirty minutes at night, sometime before I go to bed. Maybe that's why 400 00:25:37,599 --> 00:25:42,160 I sleep so well, because it helps you calm down and it helps center 401 00:25:42,279 --> 00:25:47,039 me, especially after I've had like a stressful day. It just makes it 402 00:25:47,079 --> 00:25:49,559 so that my brain kind of ships and rewires, and then I can go 403 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,359 to bed and be peaceful, and I can wake up and seeing things from 404 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,880 a different point of view so that I'm not as stressed out the next day. 405 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:00,599 So that, like sunscreen, is kind of a journey in terms of 406 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:04,559 finding meditations that will work for you. If you feel like you can't meditate 407 00:26:04,640 --> 00:26:10,160 or you don't understand how to meditate, just find something that's recorded and guided, 408 00:26:10,319 --> 00:26:12,079 stick it in, sit in a room with your eyes closed, and 409 00:26:12,119 --> 00:26:15,839 just try. You'll never know until you try. I can't meditate in silence. 410 00:26:15,839 --> 00:26:19,079 I have to be listening to something because I hear every single sound. 411 00:26:19,119 --> 00:26:23,079 But I would just recommend finding something that resonates with you. And there's all 412 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:27,079 kinds of meditations for also like different types of moods, so maybe want like 413 00:26:27,200 --> 00:26:33,960 a meditation for feeling more grounded. There's also meditations for like manifesting money. 414 00:26:33,079 --> 00:26:38,480 There's meditations for working on like self worth issues. You know, like if 415 00:26:38,519 --> 00:26:41,960 you're feeling really down on yourself, then there are ones to help you with 416 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:47,039 that. So I would research that on YouTube. It's so personal. I 417 00:26:47,079 --> 00:26:49,480 could give you recommendations for that, but it's a journey to figure out that 418 00:26:49,519 --> 00:26:53,119 one out. So again, no one's asking for this episode, but I 419 00:26:53,160 --> 00:26:57,119 hope that you found it helpful because it's just something that we'll always think about. 420 00:26:57,160 --> 00:27:00,839 We don't think about ways to care versals as teachers. I mean, 421 00:27:02,680 --> 00:27:04,720 we hear so much about self care, but that's kind of like a term 422 00:27:04,759 --> 00:27:08,240 that a lot of us have sort of started to resent because you know, 423 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,279 now it's being used by admin like, oh, will focus on self care, 424 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:15,440 go to yoga and things like that. But it goes beyond that. 425 00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:19,079 It goes really in terms of taking care of your body and your mind so 426 00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:23,279 that you can really be present whether you're teaching or not, whether you're parenting 427 00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:26,720 or you're teaching, or you're doing your hobby. You just need to take 428 00:27:26,799 --> 00:27:30,839 care of your body and yourself before it's kind of too late. There's going 429 00:27:30,839 --> 00:27:34,039 to come a point where if you keep abusing your body because you think that 430 00:27:34,079 --> 00:27:37,279 you're invincible, your body is going to have a really hard time or maybe 431 00:27:37,279 --> 00:27:41,319 it won't be able to recover from that. So the sooner that you guys 432 00:27:41,400 --> 00:27:45,440 start soon you start slapping on that sunscreen, you guys, the better because 433 00:27:45,519 --> 00:27:48,640 trying to get rid of the signs of aging later on in life it takes 434 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,880 a lot of money and it's painful. I don't know this from experience, 435 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,640 but boy, have I watched it, and I've actually known some people who 436 00:27:55,880 --> 00:27:59,640 did things like getting like peels and laser and stuff like that, and they're 437 00:27:59,640 --> 00:28:02,119 recovery was kind of early. I don't want to have to do that. 438 00:28:02,279 --> 00:28:03,720 I don't want to poke needles on my face. I mean, I have 439 00:28:03,839 --> 00:28:07,880 tattoos, but those are the kind of needles that I like. I don't 440 00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,119 want the kind that's like injecting stuff in my face. I just want to 441 00:28:11,319 --> 00:28:15,720 age gracefully, but very very slowly. So I hope that you've got a 442 00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:19,400 lot of value out of today. If you want to hear more tips not 443 00:28:19,519 --> 00:28:23,160 necessarily at anti aging unless you like this let me know. You can email 444 00:28:23,160 --> 00:28:26,079 me and let me know if you want to hear more about this kind of 445 00:28:26,079 --> 00:28:30,680 stuff because I'm kind of a geek when it comes to anti aging stuff. 446 00:28:30,839 --> 00:28:33,559 Thanks for hanging out with me today, you guys, I will see you 447 00:28:33,799 --> 00:28:37,960 next time. Thanks for listening to the Teachers Need Teachers podcast. Love this 448 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:44,279 episode, Head over to Apple Podcast or Google Play to subscribe, rate and 449 00:28:44,359 --> 00:28:45,079 leave a review.