Look, we all know what it’s like to be really tired. Most of us pulled a few “all-nighters” in college (whether to study, get wasted, or just a consequence of experimenting with coffee, energy drinks and/or stimulants.) But that’s something we probably did on purpose and had adequate time to recover from. But the kind of fatigue that teaching causes is unlike most types of mental and physical exhaustion. (Nurses, I see you. And you definitely know what I’m talking about!). Trust me when I say there is no tired like teacher tired.

Teaching is Exhausting

I started teaching at age 23, as many of us start right out of college. Even though I was young and healthy, I was not at all prepared for the level of exhaustion I was about to endure.

I remember getting a hint of what it would be like during student teaching. My body completely forgot what it was like to get up at such an ungodly hour and go balls-to-the-wall with mental energy for 9 hours of school.

Even in high school I found just being in the school building so tiring. Thousands of frenetic adolescents, sending out waves of anxiety and angst in all directions, including me! I was a confused asshole just like everyone else. And I recall coming home and napping on the regular. But I really had no clue what it was like on the other side of the desk.

Teacher Tired

Being a student is a passive thing. It can be active if you want it to be. You can actively participate all day long, in a helpful or disruptive way. But you can also just slide into the classroom, sit in your seat, use very little energy, and slip right back out.

When you are the teacher, a room full of expectant young people cycle in and out all day long, and you are expected to control them, quiet them, engage them, and enlighten them. Just the act of them all looking directly at me, waiting for the next activity or instruction feels like a lot (In an ideal world, I mean. They rarely all look at me in quiet anticipation.)

And the thing is, there is no break at all throughout the entire day. Any break you have you must work through feverishly if you have any hope of getting out of the building before sunset. Then you’re expected to run after-school activities or coach sports for little to no extra pay.

So it isn’t until you finally sit in your car and stare out the windshield at the inky sky with your mouth hanging open that you get a moment of peace. And you still have to drive home without totaling your car. (Now imagine you have kids of your own to feed, bathe, and show some kind of regard for!) Parent/teacher tired is a WHOLE NEW LEVEL of tired, lemme tell ya!

Consequences of Being Teacher Tired

My first year of teaching the exhaustion made me violently ill several times. It made me susceptible to awful viral diseases like C-diff that usually only medical personnel get from nursing homes and hospitals.

In fact, the lack of rest caused some unbelievable health problems, but it also inspired some very strange behaviors as well. The two things that come to mind both involve A.M. armpit routines. One morning as I shaved my armpits, I carelessly moved the razor from one armpit and across my chest to the other and sliced directly across my nipple. I had no idea how sensitive nipples are as the soap ran into the wound and burned like a bitch.

Another thing I learned that day was that nipples bleed way more than you would expect! That nipple wound bled right through about 5 different band-aids that day and took a ridiculously long time to heal.

Another morning when I was too tired to function I put a glob of toothpaste onto my toothbrush and proceeded to vigorously rub it into one armpit and then the other. It wasn’t until I felt a cool, minty sensation in my pits that I realized what I had done. It was kind of refreshing, but I don’t recommend it!

Teacher Tired Quotes

I asked my teacher followers to complete the following sentence, “Once, I was so tired from teaching that I actually…” and I got some very entertaining responses! Add yours below in the comments!

One, I was so tired from teaching that I actually…

No Tired Like Teacher Tired

Can you top these teacher tired moments? Comment below with everything you’ve done as a result of being absurdly tired from teaching!

If you’re looking for a way to laugh off the exhaustion, check out our most popular Teacher Memes here at Teacher Misery. We know teaching can be…well…a lot, so we’re here to help you find humor in the daily misery.

Author Bio

Jane Morris is the pen name of a teacher who would really like to tell you more about herself, but she is afraid she’ll lose her job. Jane has taught English for over 15 years in a major American city. She received her B.A. in English and Secondary Education from a well-known university and her M.A. in writing from an even fancier (more expensive) university. She has a loving family and cares about making people laugh more than anything else.