Get Rooted for Back to School Chaos
Essentria is a Canadian business and if you have lived in Canada or read about it over the pandemic, you know that two years in a row, public schools have closed to students after the spring break. In addition to schools closing, many daycares, recreation programs and camps also closed.
So many parents have been playing a juggling game since March 2020 and many are worried this will happen again over the next year too. Additionally, many families have not been following a school schedule or routine since at least April 2021, maybe longer depending on the family.
That has left many parents and kids feeling out of control, being bounced around by the ever changing narrative of public health and media. Some days we were unaware up until a day or two before something was scheduled to reopen, that it would be suddenly cancelled.
So we wrote this blog to help you find a grounding space in your life using aromatherapy as a safe and natural tool.
We will talk about the reasons we might not feel grounded anymore on a subtle and physical front, as well as how aromatherapy can help bring us back down to earth in a pleasant and appealing way.
There is actually a body of science, called environmental medicine, that suggests that our bodies need the electrons from the earth’s surface for positive health benefits (1). So yes, when someone tells you to go for a walk on a sandy beach barefoot or in the grass, there is actual science to support those benefits.
We are going to look at the best aromatherapy practises for resetting your sleep schedules, reducing stress and getting back into a school routine.
Early Bird Gets the Worm
As they say, the early bird gets the worm, or metaphorically speaking, the earlier you start to work on your back to school routine the easier that first week of school will be (being ready for school is the worm in this scenario).
Weaning children and adults into a back to school routine will be easier if it's done subtly or slowly, than throwing all the people in your household back into a schedule that causes two or more weeks of exhaustion. Some people's bodies need 2-3 weeks to adjust, while others bounce back in days. Every person is unique, so if you give your family at least two weeks to adjust, it may be less stressful than waiting until school actually starts.
Map out a schedule of what your family routine will look like on a traditional school day, keep in mind if you need a little extra time for new pandemic protocols, like filling out health questionnaires or preparing extra things like masks (if required) and sanitizer. If pre-pandemic your family needed an hour to get out the door, maybe schedule in 15 extra minutes so they don’t feel rushed with running late in addition to the new transition.
Now take that schedule, and figure out how best to reset the bedtime and wake-up schedules. For example, if your family is used to sleeping in until 10am all summer long, maybe start moving the bedtime and wake-up times back by 15-60 minutes every few days until you can reach your back to school goals.
To help get your family moving in the morning, consider making a breakfast that will smell so good, no one can sleep through the aromatic awakening.! Additionally, you can add energizing essential oils to your morning routine, maybe get a diffuser going in bedrooms or common rooms. Energizing oils include; Peppermint, Spearmint, as well as most of the citrus oils, are some of our favourites. Two to three (2-3) drops each of Peppermint and Sweet Orange will make your home smell like candy canes and sunshine all at once!
Here is an example of a family that needs to wake up by 7:30 am by September 7th, the first day of school:
Moving from a summer schedule with bedtime by 11pm, wake up by 10am
Week 1 of reset:
Summer reset, 3 weeks before school starts (week of August 16 - 20) - no more weekend sleeping in or late nights, bedtime by 10:15 pm and awake by 9:15 am.
Week 2 of reset:
Summer reset, 2 weeks before school starts (week of August 23 - 27) - bedtime by 9:30 pm and awake by 8:30 am.
Week 3 of reset:
Summer reset, 1 week before school starts (week of August 30 - September 3) - bedtime by 8:45 pm and awake by 7:45 am.
But I Can’t Sleep!
The nice thing about waiting until a little later in the summer in Canada (Ontario), is the days actually start to get shorter around the beginning of August, so kids will naturally start to want to sleep earlier due to the sun setting earlier (2). No more 10pm sunsets, by mid August, the sun will actually start to set by 8pm.
Circadian rhythms have been studied for years and evidence suggests that humans naturally shift their sleep schedules to sleep more in the seasons of less sun and sleep less in the seasons of more sun. Basically how it works is the body is signalled to wake up with light during the day, and the body naturally signals to increase melatonin in the evening so we can sleep (3).
In Canada many people book their vacations, spend extra time outdoors and play in the sun during the summer, so resetting our sleep schedules can feel challenging because we love to soak up as much sun as we can. This is likely a very natural experience for most because October - March, Canadians are supposed to be taking Vitamin D to make up for the fact that we get considerably less sun than countries south of us (4). Vitamin D is important to human health and so it would only make sense our bodies stay awake longer to soak it up more and the sun provides many other healing benefits to the human body as well!
So to help with sleep we suggest some new sleep routines as well:
Practice sleep hygiene
No screens for two hours before sleep, and find activities that will support the transition from being awake to falling asleep. For some this might look like a good workout to burn off all the energy you have left, for others this will look like reading, a bedtime bath and calming activities.
Don’t schedule stressful things around bedtime
Like business meetings, squeezing in things that are stimulating like video games and focus on being stress free as possible.
Design a sleep routine for both children and adults.
Too often adults get caught up in the perpetual cycle of working non-stop, both at their jobs, businesses and personal life activities, that we forget to schedule our own down time. But as an adult, we must “fill our cup” to be able to keep pouring into our children's seemingly unending energy resource.
If you are scheduling regular baths, even 1-3 times a week, you could always add soothing essential oils and ½ up of Epsom salts to the tub to really boost the calming effect and get you ready for bed. Try grounding oils, like Vetiver and Frankincense, blended with calming oils like Lavender, Mandarin, and Petitgrain. Make sure to add about a tablespoon of carrier oil to the mix to help dilute the oils and add 2-4 drops of up to 2 essential oils. Add to the bath water after it has filled and soak for at least 20 minutes if possible.
If you are looking for calming bath options for infants and children under 6 years old, we suggest you look at hydrolats, like roman chamomile or lavender or consider a child massage post bath with just a carrier oil like grapeseed or almond oil.
What Gets Scheduled Gets Done
Lastly, in your journey to back school, make sure everyone knows the new routines and schedules, and can see them!
It's easy in a digital world to get wrapped up in our calendars online to forget that the little people in our lives might do better seeing visually what they should be doing. Consider posting a family calendar of what each person is doing in a common room in your home or by the front door so everyone can see what’s happening and when. This will help everyone understand what’s expected every day and avoid the stress of not knowing or controlling your day. And for some people, taking that a step further and putting up a daily checklist might be helpful too. A daily checklist can be a written/picture list of routines.
Here is an example of a before-school routine:
7:30 am - wake up, brush your teeth, comb your hair and get dressed
7:45 am - eat breakfast
8:15 am - pack your lunch in your school bag, grab your homework and permission forms and 3 clean masks (if required)
8:35 am - start getting your shoes and stuff ready for school
8:45 am - leave for school, be there by 9am
Here is an example of an after school routine:
4:00 pm - empty lunch bag, dishes in dishwasher or hand wash, spray and wipe clean, hang to dry
4:05 pm - after school snack time (eat any left-over lunch for snack please)
4:30 pm - free time for 1 hour, you can play games, trampoline, swim, etc.
5:00 pm - homework if you have any
5:30 pm - help with dinner, do a chore and/or clean your room
6:00 pm - dinner time
6:30 pm - clean up dinner, wipe down tables and counters, load dishwasher and start
7:00 pm - free time for 30 minutes, you can play video games now
7:30 pm - bedtime routine (Bath, reading, meditating, journaling, massage)
8:30 pm - bedtime
Extra Tips and Tricks
Focus Blends
Do you struggle with focus at work or do your children struggle with focus at school or homework time?
No biggie, consider working with an aromatherapist to create a focus blend.
Study Blends
Some students find an aroma-inhaler with focussing oils can be helpful to really get back into the grind of school routines.
We love rosemary essential for study blends and focusing, it can really help with memory. You could also diffuse a drop of rosemary, lime, and spearmint for 20 minutes during homework time to help stay focused and finish the work quickly.
Clean with your essential oils!
Sometimes we loathe opening that kinder lunch bag because we know they did not properly secure all the lids and it's a big left-over mess in there of food and school smells. Sneak in a drop of lemon on your washcloth and you will enjoy the experience of cleaning up after your disorganized kinder more plus experience the calming and uplifting aroma of lemons.
Sweaty feet no more!
We all know those athletic kids that come home with smelly feet that could clear a house of anything pleasant within minutes. Grab those smelly shoes, make sure they are clean, sprinkle in a little baking soda and a drop of essential oil you love but also have antibacterial properties, maybe some cinnamon, eucalyptus, or peppermint. Your home will not only smell lovely from the oils, but you will be doing your little athlete the favour of killing any foot fungus growing bacterias and viruses in there too.
Home Remedy Kit
Lastly, be prepared for season changes. With summer coming to an end, the cooler fall days bring more illnesses into the home. Have a home remedy kit ready for future illnesses, including a diffuser blend to help stop spreading germs, aroma-inhalers or chest rubs for helping the symptoms of illnesses, and an arsenal of cleaners that will gently disinfect everything, to name a few!
LEARN MORE WITH ESSENTRIA!
Want to learn more about how to use essential oils in your home, check out our free no strings attached online course here.
Plus consider joining us in our Facebook group Love Essential Oils with Essentria where we post tips and tricks on how to use aromatherapy safely in your daily life.
Want to learn more about how to become an aromatherapist, check out our certification courses and bundles offered online here.