They say you can’t pour from an empty cup, and in nursing, this is absolutely vital to remember. What this essentially means is that unless you are taking care of your own health, you won’t be able to effectively take care of anyone else’s.
Yet staying healthy when you are a nurse isn’t always easy. You’ll be working long shifts and there is a lot of physical work to do. You may also have difficult days and situations that affect your mental health. However, you run the risk of burnout if you don’t look after yourself, and here are some of the best ways to do it.
Sleep Well
Sleeping well is something that everyone needs to do, not just nurses. However, because nurses tend to work strange shifts that can change quickly, requiring them to be extremely flexible, and because those shifts will potentially confuse their circadian rhythms, it’s even more important for nurses to understand how to get a good night’s (or day’s) sleep when they need it.
When you are tired, you will be unable to make decisions, and as a nurse, that can have devastating consequences. Not only that, but you will find it hard to learn, which is something a nurse needs to do constantly, and you’ll find it hard to interact pleasantly with patients and even your colleagues. Your memory, mood, and metabolism will be affected by lack of sleep, so try to get between seven and nine hours of sleep at a time, whether that’s day or night.
Keep Learning
Keeping the brain active is a crucial thing for a nurse. When you learn new things, you’ll find that your self-confidence improves and you find new ways to help others. Lifelong learning can also help to keep the brain healthy and reduce the chances of developing cognitive disorders as we get older (this is not guaranteed, but it’s worth trying).
As a nurse, there is always something new to learn, and if you want to advance your career, learning – and obtaining new qualifications – is crucial. Once you reach a certain level of experience and you know what you want to do in your nursing career, you can take online courses to help you. A perfect example of this is the family nurse practitioner program. So, not only can you improve your knowledge and keep learning, but you can advance your career at the same time.
Exercise
Exercise is important for many different reasons. To begin with, it will keep you physically fit, which is vital when you work as a nurse; you’ll have a lot of walking to do, and you’ll need to be able to move patients, for example. The healthier you are, the happier you’ll feel, and that means you’ll be more positive in what you are doing from day to day. This is good because it will ensure you see opportunities and you can be a more positive force for your patients.
Exercise is also good for your mental health. If you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, taking some time out to exercise, whether that’s going for a bike ride, walking through the park, going to the gym, following at-home exercise tutorials, or anything else, will take your mind off these issues. Your body will de-stress and you’ll be much more able to deal with problems when you have finished exercising.
