Example Podcast Script

Introduction

Hello! Welcome back to “Teacher Thoughts”; I’m your host, Mrs. Hammett! Today, we’ll be

talking about something very important for students and teachers alike to hear about:

destressing over the holiday break!

Points of interest

If you’ve ever gotten sick or felt rundown in December, you’ve experienced the fallout of holiday stress.

This is often attributed to the weather, or being around more people, but we can’t ignore that the increase of colds, illness, and fatigue over the holidays is directly connected to the stress that comes with this magical time of the year.
This is probably because in December you are likely doing more of the following: socializing, spending money, doing more activities, eating more, and sleeping less.
The cumulative effect of stress means that it is especially important for us to take care of ourselves!

The first way you can take care of yourself is to listen to your body.

In an article titled “Are you on your list? Eight holiday self-care tips” by the Meredith Corporation, the author suggests that many people “ignore” or “override their body’s signals.
Your body might be able to tolerate this neglect under normal circumstances, but they suggest that adding increased stress at the holidays might make it more than we can take.
The Meredith Corporation suggests “listening to your body”: when you feel hungry, take time to eat; when you feel sleepy, take a short nap.
These things can help you deal with extra stress and not push yourself too hard.

Another suggestion for taking care of yourself over the holidays is to know your priorities.

Courtney Carver, author of “30 simple ways to take care of yourself over the holidays,” puts it this way: “remembering what’s most important to you can help overcome feelings of overwhelm.”
Basically, if there isn’t enough time to satisfy all the holiday demands, finishing the most important things can create a sense of peace.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, many researchers have found that the best way to de-stress is to go “internet-lite” or go without electronics for awhile.

For example, Jeff Cain, Sharon Thompson, and Eric Lougheed have found that social media use and cellphone use has been shown to increase anxiety and stress levels in students, so “detoxing” for a day or more can help reduce those feelings.
If you aren’t convinced about how hyper-connectivity is affecting your life, try to remember the last conversation you had that wasn’t interrupted by a ding or a ring or someone checking Instagram or Snapchat.
Ultimately, they challenge us to spend time being present with our friends and family over the break.

Conclusion

While it might be hard to accomplish all of these suggestions every day of break, I think we would find ourselves all more relaxed and refreshed when we return if we try to incorporate at least one of these suggestions into our time off. I know I could definitely use some sleep and less blue light exposure! Until next time folks, thanks again for listening to “Teacher Thoughts.” Don’t forget to subscribe to our channel if you enjoyed this episode. You can find others just like this anywhere you find your podcasts!