Jazzmyne Townsend tries to work out at least twice a week, but she often gets her daily exercise long before she hits the gym.
A language arts instructional coach and special education inclusion teacher at Stanton Elementary School in the District of Columbia, Townsend treks from classroom to classroom, across the building, and up and down three flights of stairs.
“I’ve never been a teacher who was comfortable just instructing and then going to sit down at a desk,” Townsend said. “I like being able to get up and move with the students. I get down on the floor with students when we’re doing manipulatives or anything like … so being physically fit, being able to move and to do those things definitely helps.”
In an increasingly stressful teaching environment, exercise can be crucial to teachers’ health and well-being, and more teachers are building physical activity into their teaching practice.
In a nationally representative survey conducted this fall, nearly two-thirds of teachers and administrators said they use digital fitness trackers to monitor how many steps they take each workday. Over the last two years, these educators logged on average more than 8,500 steps—or about 1.6 miles—per school day, roughly equivalent to walking from Washington, D.C., to Niagara Falls over the course of an academic year.
According to federal health guidelines, adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity per week, and muscle-strengthening activity two days a week. But that movement doesn’t have to come in hour-long gym sessions; frequent short bursts that get the heart rate up can also make a difference. For a teacher, that might mean leading students in movement breaks or simply counting the steps they take across campus.
All of Townsend’s hustle, for example, adds up to 12,000 steps—or more than two miles—on a typical day, she said.
“I keep my [watch fitness] app on every single day and I’m always excited when I can close my rings before I actually get to the gym,” Townsend said, referring to an Apple Watch feature that tracks calories burned, brisk activity, and other daily fitness indicators. “I’m like, oh, that’s great, I’ve really been moving all day long.”
But keeping up a regular exercise routine outside of work can be difficult without school support, said Amira Davis, dance instructor at Ivy Hill Preparatory Charter School in Brooklyn, N.Y.
“Some teachers can stay consistent for a while, and then they fall off because they just get so busy and there’s so much work to do. It’s like, OK, I can miss the gym today. OK, I can miss my yoga class today ... and then they look up and time has flown by,” Davis said.
“If you don’t have that natural dopamine that you’re creating for yourself through exercise, through dance or any physical activity, you can definitely lose yourself in just going to school, teaching, leaving, going home, preparing for lessons for tomorrow. And then you just get stuck in that cycle and you’re never doing anything for yourself or allowing yourself to just sweat,” Davis said. “You can slip into depression.”
Feeling the burn—but avoiding burnout
Teachers who stay physically active tend to have lower rates of anxiety and depression, and some studies have found that consistent, school-based support for exercise can reduce teacher stress. This can be particularly important for teachers showing signs of burnout, which are often accompanied by physical symptoms like headaches and inflammation.
In February, Ivy Hill Prep Head of School Annedrea Coleman encouraged Davis to start a dance class for teachers and staff to help combat the spring slump. For four consecutive Fridays, teachers have learned the basics of fitness dance, Afro-Fusion, Caribbean Soca, and majorette parade dancing styles. While originally planned only for March, the class has been so popular that it has been extended.
“It also allows teachers to use their brains in a different way, in a more creative space than what they have to do on a weekly basis. They just get this chance to truly just be themselves at their job.”
Janet Damon, a history teacher in Denver public schools, said outdoor exercise helps her cope with daily stress. “One of my ways I heal is to go hiking, to do something in nature, to practice yoga,” she said.
It’s also become a key part of her student and family engagement. For the past five years, Damon has run a nature club that brings students and families on group hikes and bird-watching outings at local nature centers. The program began during remote instruction in the pandemic as a way to connect, but continues to be popular.
That said, it’s important for school wellness programs to be voluntary. Research suggests that mandated exercise programs can backfire, making teachers feel even more stressed or overwhelmed.
“I don’t think you have to do anything dramatic, but just by being consistent with small changes, you can make big progress,” Townsend said. “There are all these little things that I can do to make sure that my body is functioning well, that I’m bringing my best mental self and my best physical self to work every day.”
