Nurses, home healthcare providers, and personal assistants dedicate their lives to providing compassionate care to others. Unfortunately, this is often at the expense of their own well-being. The demanding nature of the healthcare profession can lead to burnout, emotional exhaustion, and aggravated symptoms of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression.
So, overworked healthcare heroes—this post is for you. Here are some tips to get you on your way to a less-stressed life:
Practice Good Sleep Hygiene
In a profession where long and irregular hours are the norm, adequate sleep is often sacrificed for work. As difficult as it might be, do what you can to establish a consistent, structured sleep routine. You can help enhance this, even in the face of irregular hours, by creating a schedule that helps you transition between shifts with buffer times, calming bedtime environments, and pre-scheduled ‘cat-naps’ to recharge as needed.
Try Mindful Movement or Meditation
We all know how fast-paced and stressful a healthcare environment can be. So as helpful as meditative practices can be for a layperson, they’re even more beneficial for healthcare workers. Calming breathing techniques, meditation, and mindfulness activities can be easily customized and worked into any routine. If you’re not much for sitting still, try mindful movement such as yoga or tai chi—which can also be modified for seated, standing, or standard floor practice.
Make Healthier Choices
As much as many of us want to grab a granola bar and head out the door in the morning, it’s not the best way to start a busy day. Even the busiest schedules can accommodate a healthy meal; it just takes a little extra work ahead of time. You can try meal planning, thoughtful snacking, meal prep, or even healthy meal delivery to help get yourself on track. Supplementing this with plenty of hydration, regular exercise, and simple skin care can help keep your body’s systems functioning at peak—and be better equipped to handle the demands of your job.
Establish Safe Boundaries
Medical practitioners often find it challenging to set boundaries between their work and personal life—understandably so. The nature of such a profession can certainly allow for more flexibility in that area than others, but it’s still crucial to set clear boundaries for your time and attention. Learn to say ‘no’, delegate tasks, and communicate openly about your limits. This is an essential part of prioritizing your own self-care.
Through these and other self-care activities, you can establish healthier habits for a more enriching life. Prioritizing self-care can not only help alleviate mental and emotional exhaustion, it can also enhance the quality of care you provide to your patients. To put it simply: you cannot serve with an empty vessel. Make sure you’re taking time to fulfill your own needs so that you can better address the needs of others.