Fuel Your Potential: Crafting a Healthy Mind Platter for Thriving School Staff

17 Feb

Educators and school staff have uniquely demanding jobs that can take a toll on their overall health and wellbeing. Heavy workloads, long hours, emotional stress, and little downtime deplete mental and physical energy over the long term. Building in small yet intentional “mental nutrition” practices based on neuroscientist Dr. Daniel Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter provides a research-based framework for school staff to nourish their minds and bodies.

Sleep Time: The Foundation for Health

The base of Siegel’s Healthy Mind Platter signifies getting sufficient sleep for cognitive and physical restoration. Sleep clears toxins from the brain, consolidates memories, and renews energy. Prioritising adequate nightly sleep enhances mood, focus, decision-making and immunity, along with reducing the risk of illness and inflammation. Staff might try earlier bedtimes or brief naps to make up for deficits. Even small consistent improvements multiply to benefit overall health.

Physical Time: Moving for Brain and Body Balance

The next band represents physical time for any aerobic movement that gets the heart rate elevated. It stimulates neurogenesis, releases proteins essential for brain plasticity, and triggers neurotransmitters that boost mood and cognition. Walking breaks, stretching sessions, dance breaks (if you’re lucky enough to teach dance!). Build this into classroom routines through “brain breaks,” encourage using stairs or formally integrate physical activity. Staff might use fitness trackers to ensure reaching 30-60 active minutes daily and take brief movement breaks every hour for compounding gains.

Focus Time: Sharpening Minds Through Attention

Focus time activities train the ability to concentrate without distraction or multitasking. It builds this mental “muscle” through reading, writing, problem-solving and focused dialogues that give brains a workout. Staff could begin meetings with 5 minutes of writing reflections, create weekly “device-free” blocks for focused work, or close their eyes during pauses just to observe the breath. Alert focus also reduces stress by keeping us present rather than caught up in unproductive worries. Using mental attention to concentrate fully is a skill continually strengthened through deliberate practice.

Time In: Connecting to Our Inner World

This band stands for reflective practices that connect school staff to their inner wisdom, values and growth. Meditation, prayer, journaling and even creative hobbies like painting or playing music give the brain downtime from external busyness. Yoga, stretching and walks outdoors also guide gentle awareness inward. Staff might share inspirational quotes or reflections during meetings, model self-care practices publicly or devote the last 5 minutes of the week for personal reflection. Building small windows to reflect, get inspired and know oneself expands capacity for presence, innovation and compassion.

Connecting time represents meaningful interactions that nurture us socially and emotionally. Human beings need to know others are genuinely interested in them and staff are no exception. Simple practices like weekly check-ins, birthday acknowledgments or “gratitude circles” to share appreciation all foster supportive connections and lift spirits. Mentorships across different roles and peer support groups also cultivate community and prevent isolation. When school staff feel seen, valued and supported by leadership and colleagues, they have reserves to give back to students and classrooms powerfully.

In an often hectic, high-demand profession like education, it takes knowledge and intention to cultivate a healthy mindset and lifestyle that brings out the best in school staff and students. Using Dr. Dan Siegel’s scientifically-grounded Healthy Mind Platter as a template provides an array of small but mighty ways for staff to care for mental and physical wellbeing each day.