by Mother Nurse Love | Oct 23, 2020 | Featured Content
Being a mom and nurse is no joke! If the late nights and back-breaking work are starting to take their toll, these tips for reducing anxiety and stress at home can help you sit down, relax, and reorient yourself.
Treat Yourself
Take a long, deep breath, and relax. The concept is simple, but finding the time—and the means—to do so is trickier. Your personal preferences play a critical role in determining which relaxation methods are effective and which aren’t. For some, relaxing means curling up in a thick, warm blanket and perusing through an intriguing novel. For others, it could mean listening to music, meditating, or napping.
Find what works for you, and set aside some time for it. Your break doesn’t need to be extensive. A short, five-minute respite can do wonders. Light some candles, lay down and take a nap, do a puzzle—whatever makes you happy!
If you’re looking for a fancier, indulgent form of relief, consider investing in massaging tools, like a massage gun or massage chair. The startup costs might appear daunting, but they’re worth it. Massages significantly reduce stress and anxiety. They alter your EEG activity, promote increased parasympathetic activity, and decrease the levels of cortisol in your body.
The best part? You can use them just about anywhere. Need to feed your baby? Rock them to sleep? Sit around in their nursery and keep a close, careful eye on them? Do it in a massage chair—it’s every parent’s dream.
Get Up and Exercise
It might seem counterintuitive, but exercise is a tried-and-true way of relieving anxiety and stress. It lowers your body’s stress hormones, improves your sleep quality, and enhances your confidence.
Try to find an enjoyable exercise routine. A light jog before bed is a great option, as are walking, yoga, and even dancing! Sports are an obvious choice, as are outdoor activities like rock climbing and hiking. If you don’t feel like exercising alone, involve your family! Play soccer in the backyard, go biking together, or take a walk through your local park.
Alter Your Diet
Another tip for reducing anxiety and stress at home is to change what you’re cooking, drinking, and snacking on. Making small, subtle alterations to your diet can improve your mental health tenfold.
Try to remove or reduce your consumption of anxiety-inducing stimulants and depressants like caffeine and alcohol. High dosages of these substances can increase irritability, aggravate anxiety, and make you feel jittery, tired, or generally out of sorts.
Improving your diet by adding healthier, stress-relieving foods is another smart move. For example, salmon, chamomile, turmeric, dark chocolate, and yogurt all have anxiety-reducing effects. The simple act of chewing gum is a known stress-reliever, too!
Stay Positive
It might seem hard, but stay positive. Put in a real, genuine effort to block out negative self-thought, and replace any unhappy thoughts with cheerful, optimistic ones. Find solace in your friends, family, and hobbies, and never underestimate the power of a good, hearty laugh.
If you can, identify the source of your anxiety. Journal about your feelings, or find a willing family member or friend to vent to. If your stress is affecting your daily life, consider seeing a professional. Remember, you’re not alone! Other people care about you and are more than happy to help.
Additional recommended reading:
by Mother Nurse Love | Oct 7, 2020 | Featured Content, Mom Tips & Tricks
Up until around their 5th birthday, kids spend every waking moment with a caregiver nearby, often at home. Their world is small and secure, just as they like it. Then comes school— which is exciting for many kids but may also seem scary. Spending that much time away from their parents and house seems inconceivable.
Here are a few tips on how to prepare for your child’s first day of kindergarten:
Walk Through the School, Meet Their Teacher
One of the scariest parts about school is that it happens in a place other than home. While kids with older siblings may have some exposure to school, only children and first-born kids may each benefit from visiting their school before they begin the year, perhaps during an orientation. Walking the hallways and having their parent nearby to reassure them will help them feel more comfortable with the whole process.
An even better tip is to meet their teacher. These introductions stave off any of your child’s worries that their teacher is some larger-than-life, scary person. Though tours and teacher meetings may not be possible due to the current pandemic, make sure to take full advantage if they are available. If they aren’t available, try to arrange a video meeting instead.
Additional recommended reading: Working Mom Health Tips For 12 Hour Shifts
Talk About What It’ll Be Like
You should also engage in conversations before and after this in-person walkthrough. Kids need to process their emotions, and they need a trusted guardian to help them do so. Be sensitive about questions and prepare to listen to their concerns, even if they seem insignificant. If your child feels in control of the conversation, they’ll likely start to grow more comfortable with the thought of heading off to school.
Given the unique circumstances this year, make sure to leave extra space for conversation about Coronavirus. These conversations allow you to calm your child’s fears a bit while reinforcing the need for them to take preventative measures such as wearing their mask and staying six feet away from other students.
Buy and Organize Their School Supplies Together
Our last piece of advice on preparing for your child’s first day of kindergarten is to buy and assemble their school supplies together. This step also affords your child control over the process. If they get a few school items they enjoy, such as a Star Wars-themed lunch box, they’ll be more likely to look forward to starting school.
As you shop, create a plan for color-coding the folders, art supplies, and other items they’ll use every day. This is wise because color has huge benefits on learning, memory, and organization. The school will seem more fun when they have a colorful system to keep their things in order so they can focus more on learning.
Additional recommended reading: How I Prepare For A 12 Hour Shift (And Stay Healthy)
by Mother Nurse Love | Sep 1, 2020 | Featured Content
Nursing professionals are no strangers to the busy 12-hour shift life. As a result, there are many nurses wondering how to tackle shift work disorder.
Shift work disorder occurs in individuals, such as nurses, who work nontraditional hours like night shifts, early morning shifts, or rotating shifts. It results in excessive sleepiness and drowsiness. Other consequences of the disorder include work-related accidents, poor safety outside of work like driving while drowsy, or poor coping skills and mood swings, which can affect your social life. You should take these symptoms seriously if you want to improve your everyday life and your ability to perform as a nurse.
Here are helpful tips on how to tackle shift work disorder:
Prepare Your Body for Sleep
If you work non-traditional hours, it’s important to make sure you can sleep when there is time. This often means sleeping on a schedule that you may not be used to, like during daylight hours. To do so, try to minimize exposure to sunlight that can set your internal “daytime clock.” Also, follow a usual bedtime routine, and keep a regular sleep schedule, including on days off. When necessary, sleep aids, naps before work, and heightened sun exposure at the beginning of your shift can help you stay more alert.
Work With Your Employer
Most employers will be conscious of the negative effects shift work disorder can play on their employees. Your employer should give you at least 48 hours off between overnight shifts or consecutive long-hour days. This will give your body time to rejuvenate. If you aren’t receiving the necessary amount of time off, talk with your employer. You should also be wary of taking on too many extra shifts or tasks. Breaks and relaxation are a necessity, and giving away your downtime can come back to bite you.
As a nurse being alert and awake is imperative to the safety of your patients. Working unconventional hours can cause shift work disorder, which can drastically affect overall health. Follow these tips for how to tackle shift work disorder to stay active on and off the job.
Additional recommended reading:
by Mother Nurse Love | Aug 20, 2020 | Featured Content
As a medical professional, you know better than anyone the necessity of sleep. But with kids not wanting to go to bed and inconsistent work schedules, it can feel like life is trying to steal sleep away from you. You can’t always control the things that chip away at your sleep time, but you can start by finding ways to improve your sleeping habits.
Wind Down
You may have had this happen to you before. After a long shift or a hectic day, you are so exhausted that you think you will drop off immediately, only to find yourself lying awake for hours. If that has happened to you, you may benefit from some wind-down time before bed. Winding down gives your mind a chance to transition from the busy hubbub of the day to full relaxation. Reading a book or writing in a journal are good ways to wind down, but be wary of scrolling on a phone or another electronic device. The bright blue-light display may keep you from falling asleep.
Watch What You Drink
Sometimes we all need a little help getting through the late shift, and coffee is always there to lend a helping hand. But drinking highly caffeinated drinks too close to bedtime can make it harder to sleep. On the other side of the spectrum, a glass of wine may be the beverage of choice to wind down after a long day. While alcohol does make the body relax, it may also affect the quality of your sleep. Try light, healthy drinks, such as tea or warm milk, to soothe your body into a quality slumber.
Keep Your Sleep Space for Sleep
It’s amazing how many roles our bed can play, from a dining room table to an office space. But associating your bed with too many things other than sleep can make it harder to fall asleep there. A bedroom that is too hot or too bright can also make it difficult to fall asleep. Good curtains and cool temperatures are just a couple of ways to make your bedroom ideal for sleep.
Don’t let life steal your slumber. Sleep is a hard prize to come by, but fighting to improve your sleeping habits is well worth the effort.
by Mother Nurse Love | Jul 14, 2020 | Featured Content
As a mom and a nurse, you don’t need me to tell you that you have a lot on your plate. The pressure is higher than ever, and the stress of twelve-hour shifts can really begin to take its toll on your physical and mental health. That’s why, even as the world puts greater demands on our attention, it’s more important than ever to take care of yourself in little ways.
Here are a few helpful ways nurses can relax after a shift:
Post-Shift Rituals
The human brain is wired for routine. We see this in the way we form habits and the way our circadian rhythm makes us tired at the same time every night. So if you find it difficult to unwind after shifts, starting a post-shift relaxation ritual may help trick your brain into calming down. For example, if after every shift you make it a point to do two or three relaxing things, such as go for a jog and then take a shower, relaxing will become more habitual.
Create a Space in Your Home
If coming home means messes to clean up and tasks to complete, decompressing after a shift isn’t as easy it could be. Creating a dedicated spot in your home for relaxing can help you get to the place where you can unwind. It can be as simple as putting things in a bedroom or office that calm you, like your favorite candles, a scent diffuser, or a massage chair. Whatever your “spot” looks like, try to keep work out of it so your brain only associates it with relaxation.
Process
No matter how long you’ve been in this career, the things that you see from day to day can be wearying. It’s important to take even a few minutes to process what happened at the end of a shift in order to deal with the emotions they may have caused. For some, this may mean meditation or journaling; for others, this may mean talking about the events of the day with a friend or loved one.
Unplug From Work
It can be easy to dwell on all that occurred in a shift, especially if it was a challenging event. However, once you’ve processed the events of a shift, as difficult as it is, you need to focus attention back on your own life, whether that’s laughing with your kids, going for a run, or spending time doing a hobby you love.
It’s easy to take unwinding after work for granted, especially when you have a hundred other things to do once you get home. But finding ways to relax after a shift is more than kicking up your feet. Nursing is a beautiful, selfless occupation, but we don’t want it to rob you of your ability to live the other parts of your life, and we don’t want you to be robbed of the ability to do it.
Additional recommended reading: Working Mom Heth Tips For 12-Hour Shifts
by Mother Nurse Love | May 7, 2020 | Featured Content
How To Support Your Kids During COVID-19
Parenting is a tough job at the best of times when schools and stores are open, and children have actives to go to and playdates to participate in. But during a global pandemic, there is a whole new set of challenges facing parents.
Online school requires much more hands-on help from parents without teachers physically present to run their classrooms. Activities are canceled, and parks across the country have closed or are operating with limited hours. Being a parent during these difficult times is trying, especially when one or both parents are essential workers.
Older kids may be feeling uncertain and anxious and require extra support. At the same time, younger children may not understand what’s going on at all and feel misplaced frustration at the changes they’re experiencing. All parents are struggling with the same thing: figuring out how to support your kids during COVID-19.
Additional recommended reading: 3 Helpful Tips For Parents Working The Night Shift
Talk to them about what’s going on.
Be open with your kids, and tell them what’s happening in the world. Sheltering them from a global crisis can’t do them much good. They’re bound to talk about it in schools now and going into the future. Having an open conversation with your children about the current state of the world and why they’re having school online is crucial so they will feel safe and secure with you and at home. Talking about uncertainty can help reduce anxiety.
Different age levels comprehend things differently, so take your child’s age into account before having the conversation. Give your children time to process, and let them know they can come to you with any questions they may have, but set a realistic expectation that you may not have all the answers yet, just like the rest of the world.
Keep them protected from the virus.
It’s best to keep your kids at home when you have to venture to the grocery store, but for many single parents, this isn’t an option. If you must take your kids into a public area where social distancing may be difficult, take precautions.
Older children should wear face masks just like you. Never put a face mask on a baby or young toddler because they are more at risk of suffocation. Take normal steps to protect your baby from illness by washing your hands and theirs often, reminding older children not to touch their faces, and watching them for signs of infection.
If you are an essential worker, such as a nurse that may be exposed to COVID-19, take extra precautions when coming home from work by showering and changing your clothing when you get home and limiting (as much as possible) your direct contact with your children.
Use your newfound at home time as family time.
One thing that the shelter in place orders are providing is extra time at home for most families. Use this time to bond with your children and have family nights. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend some uninterrupted family time together. Bonding as a family can help your kids feel supported and a little more normal during this confusing time. Maintaining a bit of normalcy can help them feel happier and more comfortable at home.
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