Five Self-Care Tips for Nurses

 If you’ve visited our blog before, you will know that we are CRAZY about nurses! You work hard in a variety of settings to promote wellness, help the sick and save lives. While your job is intrinsically rewarding, it can also lead to stress and burnout because of the level of compassion and selfLESSness that is required to provide quality care.

Here are five self-care tips for nurses:

MAKE SELF-CARE A PRIORITY

After a busy day caring for your patients, loved ones and attending to your to-do list, you might wonder how you could possibly carve out any time to take care of yourself. One approach is to think carefully about the way you perceive time. We tend to focus on the entire day which can be overwhelming. Sometimes it is easier to look at larger blocks of time to see how you can use it to your advantage. Time management expert, Laura Vanderkam, offers an interesting perspective in this article.

CONNECT WITH OTHERS

You might choose to hang out with a friend or loved one as part of your self-care plan. Connecting with others has many benefits. It is a great way of relieving stress as you can laugh and have fun with favorite people, but research shows that it can even help your mood and longevity. In fact, “happiness, and even loneliness are contagious,” according to this article by Dan Buettner.

You don’t have to plan a whole weeklong retreat to achieve this goal. Simply schedule a phone call with a relative who is far away—or have dinner with a friend who is nearby. 

TRY SOMETHING NEW

It is exhilarating to explore something that you have never done before. There’s a good chance that taking a new adventure will even allow you to discover something new about yourself. Here are some ideas to think about on your next day off:

• Visit a local attraction
• Take a day trip to a nearby town
• Try a type of cuisine you have never had before
• Get a new haircut
• Take a class (painting, dancing, cooking, etc.)

COLOR YOURSELF HAPPY

While it doesn’t count as an actual art therapy session, coloring is thought to help you to relieve stress and increase mindfulness. Here is a great list of coloring books for nurses. Be sure to remember the markers and oil pastel crayons!

TAKE CARE OF YOUR LEGS AND FEET

We know you spend a lot of time on your feet leading which often leads to leg fatigue, leg swelling, muscle soreness and sometimes unsightly varicose veins. Compression socks can help you to take care of yourself while you work and even after. Our socks and sleeves have the perfect amount of pressure to promote circulation and aid in muscle recovery without being dull or boring. 

Related: Why Every Nurse Should Wear Compression Socks

We hope you enjoyed these five self-care tips for nurses. Now we’d love to hear your favorite ways to practice self-care. Join our community on Instagram or Facebook and be sure to use #crazycompression to show off your compression gear!