I can't catch up....

I'm officially "out of it" with everything that I have going on right now. My brain seems to stop working around 4pm and it sure takes a long time to get it going in the morning. It doesn't help that I'm yawning almost every minute of the day. I'm sure every teacher would say they felt the same way during their first week of training. The training isn't all that bad, it is all the other stuff like setting up my classroom, communicating with parents, preparing curriculum, organizing stuff, etc that is suffocating me. Yesterday and today I spent several hours in my classroom sorting through things and trying out different layouts. Don't get me wrong, I was having a lot of fun doing it...I barely even stopped to take a drink of water. However, I've had the intention to go running both days but by the time I get home I feel so incredibly exhausted. I walked in my house today around 6:30pm and went right into my room to put on my pajamas and take a nap. It definitely felt good, but here I am now trying to catch up on things again. It doesn't stop. With that, I ask for your prayers. May I remember that I can't do everything and surrender to God all that is burdening me. May He give me the strength and energy to go on and reassurance of when to be done and go home.

With that, I have decided to go for my run tomorrow morning. I was going to go in to school and work on my classroom a bit more, but I'm pretty sure that will only make me feel worse. Tomorrow morning I'm going to focus on me so that I can have a more productive afternoon. I don't want to stress out my brain any more than I have to. If you read below, it definitely has a altering effect. To this day, I do believe that it was the stress of my grandpa's passing that triggered my dad's sickness. My dad died only 4 months after his father!

Why do we need to give our brains a break?
Numerous medical and psychological studies have suggested a large proportion of visits to the doctor's office are due to psychological problems, many the result of acute or chronic stress.

Stress is a normal process we use to appraise and attempt to cope with emotional threats and challenges. Stressors--events and situations--may be blamed for the uncomfortable effects of stress. But the way we perceive stressors determines whether stress is experienced as a panic or a challenge. While normal stress protects the body in times of threat, prolonged stress may potentially damage the body, including the brain.

When a stressful situation occurs, the body reacts with an outpouring of hormones (adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol). These hormones increase heart rate and respiration, send more blood to skeletal muscles, dull pain, stimulate the immune system, and turn sugar and fat into energy.

The stress response is the body and mind's normal mechanism for addressing stressors. In most cases, the response occurs for a limited time to aid the individual in dealing with a specific stress situation then the body returns to a normal, non-stressed state.

Sometimes, however, the presence of sustained stressors--abuse, combat, perceived unrealistic pressures, illness, anger-producing situations--can have markedly damaging effects on the body and the brain. Robert Sapolsky at Stanford University, and others, have investigated stress and health and report that a prolonged flood of stress hormones can actually cause shrinking in certain brain areas, particularly in the hippocampus.

A major role of the hippocampus is in memory. It is not unusual for persons with prolonged stress to report forgetfulness and difficulty learning. A hopeful discovery is that certain portions of the hippocampus can recover once the stress response is reversed.

Since catastrophes, life changes, conflicts, and the myriad things that produce a stress reaction are a part of most people's lives, it is how we learn to interpret and control stressors that is crucial.

Coping with Stress
Exercise strengthens the body. It can reduce the experience of stress, depression, and anxiety. Dozens of scientific studies have demonstrated the relationship between exercise and mood. Exercise promotes arousal and relaxation, and improves quality of sleep. These conditions help the body recover from the stress response.

Relaxation through meditation, biofeedback, and a variety of other activities and techniques promotes lower blood pressure, slower respiration, reduced metabolism and muscle tension. These counteract the effects of stress.

Social contacts, friends, and family relationships can help in creating emotional trust, support, and relaxation. Even caring for a pet can provide significant emotional comfort that helps reduce stress.

Attitudes of confidence, positive ability to solve problems, and balance allow the cycle of stress response to resolve now and then instead of being sustained.

Healthy lifestyle--not smoking, minimal use of alcohol, balanced nutrition and weight control, and slowing down and taking time to smell the roses--promotes a sense of peace and control over one's life. Stress is often related to the anxiety caused by a feeling of being out of control.

Source: www.brainsource.com/stress_&_health.htm