Music teachers are passionate individuals who want to bring the wonder of songs and melodies to their students. But this can be hard to do when their wellness takes a back seat. A study on music educators found that professionals in this role are more likely to report poor well-being in comparison to their other colleagues, with 77% experiencing some level of depression.
It’s hard for teachers to do their job if they are not feeling their best, leading to their students suffering because of it. As a music educator, it is important to look after your health in order to perform to the best of your abilities.
Here are a few ways you can do just that:
Manage your weight and diet
Things like added stress from managing classes and lack of exercise due to a busy schedule can all cause weight gain. After a while, these habits can trigger your set point weight – a predisposition to remain within a certain weight range. When you’ve consistently been overweight for a long period of time, your body will struggle to shed those extra pounds. This can be detrimental to your health as excess weight correlates to aspects such as respiratory, hormonal, and cardiac diseases.
Thankfully, there are solutions you can use, such as maintaining a nutritious diet and intuitive eating. This means that you should listen to your body’s hunger cues, feeding yourself meals packed with vitamins and nutrients to keep you energized for all your classes. Throwing in 30 minutes of physical activity daily, like walking or yoga, can also do wonders in keeping you fit and ready to teach.
Pay attention to your mental health
Preparing lesson plans and sheet music can be taxing. When paired with the effort to make sure each student can get the right kind of music education they deserve, you might feel stressed and overwhelmed. Constantly brushing up your skills by consistently practicing or researching new teaching techniques can also be mentally and physically draining. Teachers can oftentimes feel like they are in a rut and stuck in a cycle of always trying to deliver their best but falling short.
If this is the case, you might benefit from therapy: it can help you regulate your emotions and find a balance between life and work. A study found that educators that underwent psychological counseling reported a positive impact on their overall well-being, with their students also experiencing a boost in relation to their learning. Taking care of your mental health will allow you to give 100% to all your students.
Get enough rest
Without enough rest, you are more prone to getting sick and suffering psychological difficulties. Giving yourself space to take a break is important. When preparing to teach again at the start of the year, ensure you have enough breaks between each class. You should also set boundaries – when you are off the clock, try not to bring work home.
Like music, teaching it will take a lot of fine-tuning. There will be times when things won’t go according to plan, and you’ll have to work overtime. After, try to pamper yourself the next day to ensure you aren’t too burned out to teach. Even simple things like setting time aside to read a chapter of a book or practice a piece you’ve wanted to work on can give your mind the break it needs to stay healthy and ready to teach.
Keep your passion for music alive
Teaching music day in and day out can get draining, leading you to lose the spark you once had for it. When you are no longer passionate about the craft, it can impact not only your mental health but also how you teach your students. It is important to keep that love for music alive.
One way to do this is by attending concerts. Not only is it an activity that reduces stress, but it can also remind you that music can positively impact people by bringing them together through a shared interest—something that you can similarly accomplish by teaching music. You can also try creating your own pieces to keep that fire for it alive. When you are passionate, you can instill the same amount of enthusiasm into your students.
As a teacher, it is important for you to stay healthy in order to give your best to your students. For music teachers, staying in shape, ensuring your mental wellness is regulated, and keeping your love for the craft alive can make a world of difference.