Top Ways To Beat the Back To School Stress with Zenflore ♥

*This post is in collaboration with Zenflore, however, as always, all thoughts expressed in this post are 100% my own.

Back to school time is almost upon us - just a few short days to go! There's no doubt that back to school time brings stress for everyone, going from lazy, slow mornings to a sudden rush of trying to get everyone up, ready and out the door can leave us feeling stressed to the max.

It's not just parents left feeling stressed over school days either, research has shown that sadly, stress is a growing problem for young people too. Childline, which provides counselling and help to children under the age of 19, provided over 3,000 calls of support and counselling sessions to children who were experiencing exam stress and calls of this nature were up 11% from 2013/14 to 2016/17. I don't know if it's a case of exams becoming harder and more daunting for pupils, or whether there is far too much pressure put on them to succeed for university places, but how awful is it that people so young are feeling so stressed over something academic that they have to seek help?

Tie all this in with the social aspects of school life and how much anxiety and stress it can bring pupils in wanting to fit in, make friends, etc. and the traditional view of school being a friendly learning place can be transformed for them into quite a daunting atmosphere to have to enter into each and every day of the week.

So what can we do to help young people feel less stress when it's time to go back to school?
It is becoming increasingly accepted in medical and psychiatric opinion that gut flora can influence stress levels, as well as being linked to having a role in allergies, weight gain and immunity. In response new probiotics are now being developed to tackle specific problems and rather than take a 'one size fits all' supplement, there are new strains for different purposes.

The gut health supplement Zenflore is one of the world's first probiotic for mood, memory and stress. It is manufactured just up the road from me here in Cork and was actually produced based on a study from University College Cork (the university I attended), which found that people who took a single daily capsule of bifidobacterium logum 1714 for four weeks performed better in stress tests than those who took a placebo.

So how can your gut have such a big impact of your brain? 
The gut is home to you enteric nervous system, sometimes referred to as the 'second brain' and that is where 90% of your body's serotonin (feel good chemical) is made. Therefore, it's no wonder that the gut has an influence in the 'happiness' and well-being of the brain and is helping to support it in a positive way.

How can Zenflore help?
Zenflore helps to reduce fatigue and support your mind and body during demanding times in life. It acts immediately and begins to prime your gut where it is needed. During the first two weeks of taking Zenflore it will help reset your system. It is important to take Zenflore every day and to see the full effects it will take approximately four weeks, depending on the individual gut. You can read reviews on Zenflore here and I will be taking the supplement for the next month and will give an update on the effects it had for me when my box is finished.

Zenflore costs €32.95 for a months supply - so just over €1 a day to provide complete support for your body and mind during demanding times. It's a natural food supplement so is not harmful in any way. Zenflore can be taken by children over the age of three as it contains natural bacterium culture which is passed from mother to baby at birth.

Zenflore is available for purchase in pharmacies across Ireland.

Here are some top ways to beat the back to school stress:
1. Take a supplement like Zenflore to help reduce your stress levels naturally, as well as giving your body and mind a boost of health too.
2. Have everything prepared the night before so that there's no mad rush in the morning to find uniforms, what everyone needs for school, having to make lunches, etc.
3. Get back into routine a couple of weeks before school. Gone are the leisurely bedtimes of the summer holidays and back are the scheduled bedtimes with bath, book, bed the usual pattern we follow to help the boys get relaxed for bed and to fall asleep easily. If you're lucky to have children who love a lie-in practice waking them up in time to get ready for school again without having to rush due to having woken up late.
4. Establishing a routine in the mornings can help everyone get out the door easier and with a lot less stress! Our routine is up, breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, a little bit of play time and then out the door to school.
5. Getting homework done the night it's given really helps to not have the stress of an extra thing to do in the morning. I usually let Tyler play for half an hour after school and then when we get home he has a snack and straight into home so that it's done and dusted and we can get on with the rest of our day.

Do you have any tips for beating the back to school stress? Have you tried Zenflore?