Teachers: How to really rest in the holidays

Charlie Burley, The Teacher's Health Coach, shares his tips on how to truly relax in the school holidays. His incredible advice will make you feel seen and give you tips you can use to actually rest and recuperate in the school holidays.

There’s a specific type of tiredness we feel just before the holidays - a type of tiredness only school staff would understand:

An overwhelming exhaustion that feels like it’s in your bones. A foggy-headed feeling as you struggle to think straight. A busyness in your brain as your mind already races ahead to what needs doing next term…

It’s not just the physical and mental toll of teaching that leads to this, there are plenty of other factors too! There’s the decision fatigue, the perpetual need for patience, the emotions we absorb, and the adrenaline overload and chronic cortisol.

Due to all the above, we run the risk of completely collapsing when we do finally reach these much-needed breaks - not really resting, more like crashing.

Handbrake holiday or slowdown slump?

But interestingly, after a chaotic term in school, we often expect ourselves to be able to switch off at a moment's notice now that it’s the holidays. It’s a bit like driving at 100mph down the motorway, pulling up the handbrake and trying to swing the car into a parallel park… It’s probably going to end in disaster. This can look like a 5-day Netflix binge, followed by lethargy - and a lovely layer of self-loathing!

Sometimes, however, we go the other way: we overcommit to social plans, trying to catch up with loved ones we haven’t seen for months. Or we can postpone taking a break at all, deciding instead to deep-clean the house, curate the kitchen cupboards or post that pile of clothes on Vinted before we dare slow down!

There’s also a few of us whose minds stay in school mode: we treat most of our holiday as a chance to catch up and get ahead, assuring ourselves that, “If I just get this done…” then we’ll be able to switch off.

If any of the above sounds familiar, you’re not alone!

Today we’re going to talk through how to really rest now you’ve reached the break.

Reframing rest

I want to begin by first shifting how you think about rest.

The truth is, rest is best when it isn’t something you do at the end, or when your to-do list is neatly ticked off and no one needs anything from you - if that were the case, we’d never rest at all!

Instead, think of rest like charging your phone: you wouldn’t run it to zero by 9am every day and expect it to work perfectly in the afternoon! You also tend to charge your phone before you need to use it.

That’s how we want to think about rest: it’s actually the first part of the productivity cycle, not the last!

My favourite definition of rest is:

"Rest is when you stop using a part of you that’s used up, worn out, damaged, or inflamed, so that it has a chance to renew itself." (Emily Nagoski, 2019)

Rest is also not necessarily about doing nothing. In fact, according to Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith, there are seven types of rest… I know, it’s a lot! But let’s quickly break them down before we look at how you can realistically make these work for you:

Dr Saundra Dalton-Smith’s model outlines seven different types of rest we need:

1. Physical Rest

This can be active or passive. It could be gentle walking, stretching, taking a nap, yoga, or a good afternoon spent on the sofa.

2. Mental Rest

Taking brain breaks away from solving problems, mindfulness practices (like focusing on your coffee for one full minute), or simplifying your day to reduce decision-making.

3. Emotional Rest

Talking honestly with someone who listens, journalling without a prompt, saying what you actually feel (even if only to yourself), or reducing exposure to emotionally charged experiences.

4. Sensory Rest

Switching off the screens, dimming the lights, turning off the noise and letting your nervous system settle. Popping outside can be great for this too!

5. Creative Rest

A walk in nature, lighting a candle while you doodle, even just noticing the colours in the sky at sunset. Slowing down and giving your brain space, and sometimes the stimulus, for creativity.

6. Social Rest

Time with people who get you and don’t need you to perform around: a walk with a close friend, socialising in smaller groups or even taking a break from being with other people at all.

7. Spiritual Rest

Feeling connected to something bigger than yourself. A community, a charity or cause. It could be through religion, mindfulness or meditation.

The most important thing to remember is that you absolutely don’t need to tackle them all at once. In fact, if you’re anything like me, even thinking about seven types of rest feels exhausting! A good rule of thumb can be to just notice which ones feel the most lacking, and start there.

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The R.E.N.U.E Framework

To keep things more practical, I use something I call the R.E.N.U.E model, especially during the holidays. By looking at these categories, and fitting them into a flexible framework across your break, you can rest assured (see what I did there?) that you’re ticking off the various types of rest you need.

Rest (active and passive)

Real rest isn’t just about lying in until 10am and watching Netflix in your pyjamas for hours. That might feel good for a day or two… But for most of us, it doesn’t actually leave us feeling better. If anything, we end up feeling more sluggish, more groggy, and more frustrated that we’ve “wasted” the day!

Rest can be active, it can take effort.

It might be stretching, going for a walk, listening to calming music (the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is one of my favourites!), journalling, or just giving yourself more time to do something slowly, without rushing to the next task.

You already know what’s restful for you, you don’t need me to tell you that! But this is your permission to actually do it, and to stop treating rest like something you have to earn first.

Explore

This is maybe my favourite!

Exploring gives your brain new inputs, new sights, sounds, smells, and experiences, and that fresh stimulus sparks creativity, focus and energy in a way that nothing else quite does!

And it doesn’t have to be a holiday or a big expensive day out. It might just be trying a new walking route, going to a different park, picking a new café instead of your usual one. Wandering around a new village or high street, just to experience something new.

Even something as simple as a new recipe, a different drink, a creative project, or a new fragrance. Whatever it is, those little changes can give you a sense of buzz and clarity that’s really hard to find when we stay stuck in the same four walls!

Nature

If you only do one thing this break to boost your wellbeing, and you’re already getting a good night’s sleep, then make it this…

Get outside. Spend as much time in nature as you possibly can: sit under a tree, look up instead of down, notice what’s around you, take in the quiet sounds of nature.

The outdoors has a powerful impact on our mental health, and our energy levels, thanks to a few key chemicals. The above actions all increase serotonin (our calm, contented chemical) and decrease our stress hormones, like cortisol and adrenaline. 

It doesn’t have to be complicated or fancy and you definitely don’t need to hike up a mountain or travel to some hidden cove! Just be outside, in any way you can.

Unplug

I promise I’m not about to launch into a full anti-social media rant here! I use my phone like anyone else, and I’m not suggesting we all delete Instagram and go live in caves. 

But if you’ve ever noticed that scrolling “just for five minutes” somehow turns into forty-five… and you come out of it feeling groggier, more tired, and weirdly disconnected from the world around you…Then this part’s important!

Your phone isn’t really relaxing you, it’s just distracting you. The pings, dings, pictures and colours increase the levels of dopamine (our focus, drive and reward chemical) for very little effort. Your phone isn’t giving you entertainment… It’s draining your energy.

The problem here is that not only does it give you a lot of reward for very little effort, actually making you feel less motivated and more lethargic in the long term, it also increases your likelihood to compare yourself and speeds up your perception of time - now I don’t think any of us want the holidays to go quicker, do we?!

Even half a day without your phone, or just a screen-free morning, can make time feel slower. It can help you regulate your central nervous system and really feel rested, not just distracted. You’ll notice things you usually miss, you’ll feel more present, you’ll feel like you’re back in your body again!

Emotional Connection

Not just with others, but with yourself. Sometimes it’s talking to someone, face-to-face or over the phone, sometimes it’s writing a letter to someone you can’t speak to.

It might be journalling, or saying something you’ve been meaning to for ages! And, if you’re like me, sometimes it’s not about talking at all - it’s about listening. Sitting with, and processing, the emotions from this year and getting them out in a way that feels safe.

All of these activities increase the levels of oxytocin, the bonding chemical, in your brain, leaving you feeling calmer, more supported and connected to those around you. 

It’s Self-First, Not Selfish

To finish, I want to acknowledge an obstacle we often face when it comes to anything related to “self-care”. A lot of us have internalised the idea that anything we do for ourselves is taking away from others; rest is indulgent, we should just push through. 

But, if we’re being completely honest with ourselves, we all know that constantly giving has diminishing returns.

If we don’t choose to slow down, we’ll be forced to - and it never happens at a very convenient time!

What’s more, putting yourself first sometimes isn’t selfish, it’s self-first. When you take care of your own energy, you’re able to show up with more patience, more presence, and more capacity for others.

This creates what I call the Wellbeing Ripple, which positively impacts the health and happiness of absolutely everyone around you. It also gives others a gift that so few get to receive: a good example of how to set boundaries and balance work and wellbeing.

Let’s not forget, you deserve to feel good - life is too short not to enjoy it! You’re a human being, not a robot and, whether it feels comfortable to admit or not, work isn’t your whole life and productivity isn’t your entire personality!

Let’s stop waiting for exhaustion to force us to rest, let’s start building it in this break, one small step at a time.

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