Students and teachers are experiencing stress as they prepare for final exams and benchmark tests nationwide, but there are simple tools schools can use to reduce that anxiety.

While eliminating recess, cutting back on electives, focusing on core content areas, increasing expectations and decreasing resources all increase teachers and students stress, a focus on mindfulness can help restore some much-needed balance.

This is the first in a series on the schools role in design and implementation of healthy school initiatives in the communities, towns and large cities across America written by Dr. WiSH William S. Hesse and co-authors Cindy Boyum, Shannon Woodruff, Mark Kesler, Jen Guerrette, Ryan Backstrom, Dr. Ann Davis, Lora Potter, Kylene Bogden, Dr. Chris Lineberry of The Ultimate Guide to Healthy School Design available from Amazon.

Students come to school with a variety of issuesand stress from what is going on at home and at school that affects theirability to learn. Teachers work in a high-stress profession, and chronicexposure to work-related stress is associated with increased risk of obesity,which affects how a person feels, their energy levels, and puts them at agreater risk for disease.

In modern-day society, we can hardly go anywhere, listen to orread anything without bumping into the word anxiety. Over the last decade, thisword has become a household description of what was once described as stress.

The feeling of anxiousness or dealing with anxiety as a mentalhealth issue has permeated our society and has especially affected school-age childrenand teens. You can readily find articles or social media posts discussing anxiety,ranging from personal opinion to research on symptoms, behaviors, andtreatments. Research has found that children as young as two years old aredisplaying symptoms and behaviors that are diagnosable as anxiety. As parents,we try to create a better and healthier world for the next generation, but ithas become more challenging with the introduction of anxiety in youngergenerations.

As a professional that specializes in youth and teen mentalhealth, I hear about youth anxiety on a daily basis from teachers, coaches andschool administrators. Teens are unsure how they can handle this chargedfeeling that is chronically active in their growing brains and bodies.

Youthexpress feelings of being unworthy, despite how perfect they try to be. They alsoexpress frustration trying to keep up with their peers as well as what they seeonline. Student can be stressed by poor relationshipswith parents, a lack of instructional support, the pressure to perform well atschool and so much more.

The stress surrounding anxiety can be harmful to childrens andteens malleable minds. We adults need to help better understand and supportyouth in improving their mental health through useful tools and skill sets.

Student-teacher relationships are extremelyimportant to students success. It has been said that kids dont care what theteacher knows, unless they know that the teacher cares.

Stress has a major impact on teachers healthand the effectiveness of their instruction. Stressors such as disengagedstudents, discipline problems, dealing with difficult administrators and feelingunsafe in the school environment can make a good teacher feel tired,unmotivated, inadequate and ineffective.

Principals can help reduce both students and teachers stress by providing support and using research-based methods that incorporate mindfulness, exercise and nutrition. The Ultimate Guide to Healthy School Design and Implementation can help with that.

How do we help support children and teens as they navigate, live,deal with and heal from anxiety? We start by practicing and teachingself-awareness.

Self-awareness is imperative, because it lets us be responsiblefor our own behavior, reactions, and responses to situations. With thispractice, we are able to live with a stronger understanding of both ourselvesand the world around us. Practicing self-awareness allows us to see and acceptourselves for who we are, preparing us to begin the self-love aspect of theskill; self-awareness is key to a healthy mindset.

Self-care, self-awareness, self-love, and mindfulness are oftentrivialized by society as think positive or stay away from drama anddramatic people, but these practices are more than shifting your mindset fromnegative to positive it is about the ability to look inward to manage yourbasic needs for inner peace.

When we become self-aware in life, we are able to manage ourinternal dialogue, which, in turn, shifts the dynamic in our ability to respondappropriately to the external situation.

Imagine a classroom where the teacher asked a personal opinionquestion. Now imagine each student begins in quiet self-reflection, followed byself-regulation leading to the ability to respond with their opinions. This letsstudents develop skills to express themselves, interact with their peers andresolve conflicts on differing opinions without creating drama amongst groups.

When people are self-aware, they can manage themselves at a higherlevel through self-regulation and self-empowerment. Students are able topractice self-regulation by effectively communicating their thoughts while experiencingself-empowerment by trusting that they are responsible for their own opinionsand outcomes of conversations.

There are amazing skills and techniques that offer youth help with their anxiety through practicing self-awareness. Studies have found that self-awarenesss effect on mental health allows youth to feel free from their anxiety and speak boldly about how mindfulness techniques have made a massive impact on their lives and helped them manage stress and anxiety.

Mindfulness is important when it comes to diffusinganxious feelings, dealing with and healing from anxiety.Mindfulness is a practice of begin present in the moment. It is aperiod of time in which students are quiet and reflective, and it yields powerful,positive results.

Some children or adults have difficulty settling their busy minds, but Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) techniques can help their peace of mind and improve their mental health. These techniques are described briefly below and in greater detail in The Ultimate Guide to Healthy School Design and Implementation.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reductiontechniques are accessible to anyone of any age, and they can be as simple as payingattention to your breath.

Check the breath. We always come home to the breath. Even small, mindfulactions will help students. Students can focus on the feeling of their nostrilsas air flows through them and fills their lungs. Or they might notice thefeeling of their lungs expanding with each breath. They can become aware of theswell of their shoulders as they inhale and exhale. When students feel anxious,tying movement of the body to their breath gives them an anchor point.Something to focus on to bring awareness back to the present moment. Payingattention to the breath stimulates the parasympathetic rest and digest,calming part of the autonomic nervous system and bringing the body into a stateof equilibrium. When we exhale or sigh, we are actually signaling to the bodyto let go of tension and go into rest and recovery mode.

Testing is a difficult time for students, families and teachers.Withharried deadlines, pressured situations, and the need to perform, both studentsand teachers feel the stress that accompanies testing season. Bringingattention to the body and its actions while breathing is just one way to combatthese elevated stress levels. Another is to consciously check in with ouremotions.

Emotional check-in. Simply ceasing all exterior activities and checking in with our physical body is a form of mindful self-awareness. It can be as simple as placing our hands on our heart and asking without judgment: How am I feeling? What is stressing me? Now how can I come to this present moment?

As the education world begins to integrate Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction techniques into curriculum and initiatives nationwide, it empowers all people to monitor our emotional health, enabling us to respond instead of react to stressors. Mindfulness can relieve stress, increase enjoyment, increase productivity, reduce anxiety, and help to build a more accurate view of the world.

The next step after helping students and teachers develop their self-awareness and mindfulness is to develop a plan for success for your school.

Your journey forward has to deal with putting your perspective into action and making decisions that will impact the entire school and community. Determine how you will be a champion for change in your school classroom and community. Think about what a school educator, parent, or teacher can do in order to begin to move in a positive direction regarding becoming healthier and more active.

Then its time to improve your schools culture.Have you considered creating a mindfulness room for staff and students oncampus? Teachers stress and anxiety continues to grow, and it has led toteacher burnout concerns.

Is Americas education system a culture ofstress? Teachers can become sick by teaching in a classroom or schoolenvironment that is stressful. But that doesnt have to happen, if you create ahealthy school culture on your campus.

The importance of staff and student wellness, an overall healthy school design and implementation process, with support and resources for wellness champions and teachers will lead to less stress and a more productive teachers and students.

To do this:

Other publications by Dr. WiSH William S. Hesse, Ph.D. include:

See the rest here:

Increased anxiety during testing and how to fight back - Arizona Education News Service