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Back to School, Back on Track
“Every year when school begins, it’s a rough start for the kids, and a change for me too.
“… just when it feels like we got a hold of our routine, change comes, and it takes a while to adjust.”
The return of the new school year has a way of resetting the rhythm of the entire household. Coordinating new schedules, pickups, drop-offs, and everything in between can feel like a full-time job. And this has neurological consequences, too.
The good news is that our brains are wired to handle change and adapt to new situations and routines. In fact, change is good for us.
Life Changes and Your Brain
From a neurological standpoint, change is like a gift to the brain. It speaks to the brain’s neuroplasticity: its ability to form new neural pathways, adapt to new information and situations, and grow. This rewiring effect happens at all stages of life, and is what keeps us sharp when engaging in new activities, learning new skills, and following a new routine.
While many of us would prefer comfort over discomfort, and predictability over the unknown, good change is what keeps the brain young and malleable.
What makes change and stress “good” is the direction you are moving toward and how you embrace ways to grow in the process. One way to take advantage of change is through implementing structure around changes in routines to enhance the experience.
Reducing Your Mental Load
One of the easiest ways to get your brain excited for new change and routine is to reduce the stress and mental load surrounding the activity and make it enjoyable.
Our parents used to tell us to have our shoes ready at the door. The same goes for any stage of life. I like to tell my patients that taking medication, remembering to drink water, or going on the recommended 30-minute walk is going to feel like a heavy task. But each habit becomes simple when you create space and set up for them in your daily life.
The same applies to getting kids on a new routine, setting up schedules, and adjusting to new class activities. Without preparation, the brain’s stress response takes over and, in many ways, can delay or overcomplicate a task. When you are ready to adjust and prepared to engage, it tells the brain “I can do this” on a very fundamental level, as it reduces friction and keeps you from feeling like you’re running from behind and playing “catch up”.
Here are a few ways to lighten the mental load:
- Write it down. A simple list lightens the mental load and frees the brain to focus on what’s in front of you.
- Use toolslike whiteboards and color-coded notes to keep you and your family organized; I particularly like a right on wipe off calendar with every family members name getting their own color. This way at a glance, everyone knows what everyone else is expected to do.
- Designate a spacefor forms, prescriptions, and more
- Do one thing at a time.The brain doesn’t truly multitask; it just switches back and forth quickly and tires itself out in the process.
Reducing mental load is only half the equation. The other half is knowing when to stop adding and start subtracting.
Support Your Brain by Doing Less
The best way to support the brain is to prioritize what matters, and as we all know, when we don’t feel our best, we cannot perform our best.
Oftentimes, changes in schedules, activities, and more can disrupt our routines. And when things stack up, what often goes first is the promises we made to ourselves: to eat healthier, get more rest, move intentionally, and spend more time with those we love. Take sleep, for example: one of the easiest promises to break, and one of the hardest to go without.
Ask any parent what the hardest part of back-to-school season is, and “fixing everyone’s bedtime” is always near the top of the list. We work so hard to get the children back on a consistent sleep schedule. Yet somewhere along the way, we decide our own rest is negotiable.
Dr. Kandel’s 5 tips for making the most of this new school season:
- Prioritize good sleep as a non-negotiable and build habits around supporting rest as a family. This can include limiting devices before bedtime, having a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, and setting up for a successful day the night before. This will make morning routines go a lot more smoothly!
- Remember that hydration is key when supporting the brain to operate efficiently. Fill up water bottles the night before school and work, and commit to treating hydration as a tool to optimize your performance, not just another task.
- Offload before the end of the day to avoid carrying the previous day into the next day without any reprieve. When we forget to “close out” our day, it can cause poor sleep and increased stress. Try writing down what is on your mind and “closing all tabs” mentally to help reduce stress levels and start the next day with purpose. Remember, when it is done, it is done!
- Spend quality moments amidst the hustle and bustle of the week to recoup and foster connection. This can be done by sharing a family dinner and having phone-free nights with those you love. Have everyone report on one special thing that occurred during the day. That shifts the focus from negative to positive.
- Keep your brain active with new challenges, not just routine tasks. Learning something new, like a game, a recipe, an instrument, even a different route to work, builds cognitive reserve in a way that repetitive activities don’t. New things don’t always have to feel like an obligation.
A Message From Dr. Kandel
“Most of us are aware that change can be hard. It is also important to know that good stress is still stress. It raises cortisol levels and can give our brain the “wrong” signal. Speaking about how you were feeling out loud is often very helpful in reducing that stress. Reframing how you are feeling from anxious to excited, unprepared to ready, can make all the difference in how you are feeling. And sharing your feelings with loved ones can also help reduce stress levels.
Here’s hoping that the new school year is a new, exciting beginning, not only for the student but also for the entire family!”
Joseph Kandel, MD
For more Neurology Office insights, feel free to visit the following Neurology Office resources below:
A Better Reset: The Neurology Behind Building Habits That Last
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