EN 
NL 
FR 
IT 
DE 
ES 
PT How to Care for your own Well-being as a Nurse
April 10, 2024
Being a nurse means your days are always filled taking care of others. Yet, taking care of your own health is just as crucial. In this article, let’s focus on easy ways to boost your own mental and physical health while also looking out for your colleagues’ well-being.
What are some habits you should embrace?
Nursing life is busy and we know it’s not always possible to implement time-consuming habits in your routine. That’s why we’ve also included quick and effective ways to nurture yourself and your nurse colleagues during the day.
- Try to take a break with your colleague(s). This can include going for lunch together or taking a quick walk outside. A change of scene or a change of pace is beneficial to your mental health, and positive moments with the people you work with will truly make a difference in getting through long days.
- Practice breathing exercises. This is key to releasing tension and it will also help calm down your nervous system in moments of panic or stress. Find some exercises here and try to implement these in your workday, for example while going to the bathroom or right before starting your shift.
- Take care of your diet. A healthy diet supports not just your physical health, but also your mental well-being, both now and long-term. When you’re stressed and tired, it can be much harder to keep up a healthy eating pattern at work and you will most likely be tempted to reach for caffeine or refined sugar. It can help you to make sure you have fruits and vegetables near you, or other snacks like nuts or trail mix that provides ready nutrients. There are also helpful applications you can install on your phone, such as Easy Meals, which gives you easy calorie counted recipes and meal ideas. Even more tailored for nurses is NURSING YOU, an exclusive app to help nurses care for themselves. It provides well-being assessments, tracking functions, recipes and other health tips.
- Engage in simple acts of kindness towards your colleagues, even more when they are mentally or physically struggling. It can be as simple as giving a compliment, or bringing an extra snack for them to lift up the mood. Likely it will also make you feel better to know that your small gestures are helping to boost others’ confidence and creating a happier environment.
- Remind yourself of the positive impact you have on people. Being overworked can make you feel depressed and worse about yourself, and dealing with some difficult patients on top of that can bring you down even more. The Everyday Interactions is a resource designed for healthcare professionals to monitor their interactions with patients they care for and measure the impact they have on them. It encourages all healthcare professionals to record their brief interventions with patients surrounding a number of lifestyle risk factors, and measure how they have impacted the health of the public by doing so.
- Take care of your body during your shift. Nurses face a significant risk of musculoskeletal injuries, and neglecting physical health will also take a toll on mental well-being in the long run. There are various ways to protect yourself, such as by not lifting more weight than you’re supposed to and by lifting patients in a safe manner. For more information on this, check out our articles on how much weight nurses should lift and the right patient lifting techniques.
Watch out for stress warning signs
Taking care of your well-being also includes listening to what your body is telling you, especially when it’s calling out for help. It’s important to note that each body responds differently to stress and that there are a lot of red flags your body can send out, other than written down in this list.
- Less interest in hobbies or other fun activities
- Short temper, easy irritability with others
- Trouble concentrating or keeping focus
- Sleep problems: either sleeping too much or having difficulty falling or staying asleep
- Feelings of being swamped and overwhelmed
- Chest pains, rapid heartbeat
- Upset stomach, problems retaining food
- Headaches, muscle tension, neck or back pain
- Many sudden mood changes
- Rashes, hives, skin irritation
- Constant fatigue
- Memory problems or forgetfulness
- Shortness of breath, dizziness
- Apathy, general dissatisfaction
- Feeling confused, especially with familiar tasks
- Loss of appetite or overeating “comfort foods”
- Excessive sweating
- Menstrual problems, such as missed menstrual periods
- Increased blood pressure
- Sudden crying episodes
Reach out for help when you need it
If you’re experiencing too many of these symptoms listed above, you should not hesitate to look for the proper mental health services. Although nursing is one of the most rewarding careers, it comes with challenges that increase the risk of burnout, and the psychological demands need to be properly addressed. Here you can find some mental health resources that specifically care for nurses.
Sources:
American Psychology Association. (2008). Listening to the warning signs of stress. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/warning-signs.pdf
Calmer. (2023, October 9). A guide to looking after your mental health at work. https://www.thisiscalmer.com/blog/a-guide-to-looking-after-your-mental-health-at-work
Mental Health Foundation. (n.d.). How to support mental health at work. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/publications/how-support-mental-health-work#:~:text=If%20you%20work%20in%20an,that%20make%20you%20feel%20good.
NHS England. (2023, April 3.). Looking after your team’s health and wellbeing guide. https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/looking-after-your-teams-health-and-wellbeing-guide/#creating-a-safe-and-inclusive-space-to-talk-about-wellbeing
NHS England, & NHS Improvement Midlands. (2020). Caring for yourself while you care for others: A toolkit for nursing ambassadors to look after their own health. https://www.england.nhs.uk/midlands/wp-content/uploads/sites/46/2020/10/NHS_Caring_for_Yourself_FINAL_MIDLANDS_201002.pdf
Suffolk University Boston. (n.d.). The warning signs of stress. https://www.suffolk.edu/student-life/health-wellness/mental-health-resources/the-warning-signs-of-stress#
Ergotrics
Ergotrics is a Med-Tech company specialized in positioning and moving patients with compressed air. We design and produce inflatable medical devices, which allow optimal positioning of patients in hospitals. We design our products with special attention given to ease of use and hygiene. By using compressed air instead of manual force, we want to provide better support for patients without ergonomic burden for the healthcare worker.
