Why Am I Nervous on the First Day of School?

What You'll Learn

• Butterflies in your stomach are your body getting you READY, not something going wrong
• A tiny brain part called the amygdala watches for anything new and sounds an alarm
• Your brain treats "new" and "unsafe" the same way until it gets more information
• Slow breathing out is a switch that turns the alarm back down
• Almost everybody feels it — the feeling shrinks once the new thing becomes familiar

Words to Know

Nervous

A jumpy, fluttery feeling when something new is coming

"I felt nervous the night before school."

Amygdala

The tiny alarm part of your brain, about the size of an almond

"My amygdala saw a new classroom."

Adrenaline

The speed-up chemical that makes your heart beat faster

"Adrenaline gave me butterflies."

Familiar

Something you have seen enough times that it feels normal

"By Friday the hallway felt familiar."

Calm

Slowed down and steady again

"Long breaths out helped me feel calm."

Check What You Learned

Fun Facts

• The amygdala is an almond-shaped cluster of cells deep in the brain — its name comes from the Greek word for almond

  Source: National Institute of Mental Health

• The amygdala reacts to things that are new or uncertain, not only to things that are genuinely dangerous, which is why an exciting day and a scary day can feel the same in your body

  Source: National Institute of Mental Health

• Adrenaline speeds the heart rate and breathing to get the body ready for action, and it is released before anything bad has actually happened

  Source: NIH National Library of Medicine, MedlinePlus

• "Butterflies" happen because the body sends blood toward the muscles and away from the digestive system, which the stomach feels as a flutter

  Source: Harvard Health Publishing, "The gut-brain connection"

• Breathing out for longer than you breathe in slows the heart rate, because a long exhale activates the body's calming system through the vagus nerve

  Source: Harvard Health Publishing, "Relaxation techniques: Breath control"

• Slow, controlled breathing is used before performance by athletes and by astronauts in NASA training as a practical way to steady the body

  Source: NASA Human Research Program; American Psychological Association