As care providers and family child care providers, we know that our work is both rewarding and challenging. The responsibility we carry often leaves us with little time to focus on ourselves, making self-care feel out of reach.
We’ve all heard it: “You can’t pour from an empty cup.” It’s advice we often brush aside, wondering how to make time for ourselves when so many depend on us. Yet prioritizing even small moments for self-care can help protect our health and energy, enabling us to provide quality care for longer.
Caregiving can lead to stress-related risks like burnout, heart disease, and depression. While we may not have hours to spare, we can still build in short, meaningful breaks to unwind and destress. Every schedule is different, and sometimes we may only have a few minutes to ourselves. Here are five simple ways to reduce stress in five minutes or less.
- Move your body!
This can mean a quick walk around the block, a dance-off in your living room, or a quick stretch. Set a timer and get moving!
- Go outside
Sit, stand, walk, or run, spend your time in nature in whichever way you choose. Getting a few breaths of fresh air, standing in the sun for a few minutes, and changing the scenery can have a profound effect on your stress levels and drastically improve your mood.
- Hang out with a furry friend
Take a quick break and snuggle up next to your best fur-iend (furry friend). Pets, especially dogs and cats, can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, ease loneliness, encourage exercise and playfulness, and even improve your cardiovascular health. Don’t have a pet of your own? That’s okay! Take a few minutes to sit outside and look for your neighborhood birds. Listen to them sing and flutter through the trees.
- Get a good laugh
Take a quick break and look up a few cute or funny videos online. It can be a quick compilation of America’s Funniest Home Videos, or cats playing the keys—whatever lights up your day and brings a smile to your face. Laughter, even smiling, has been proven to help reduce stress.
- Mediate
Mediation is not limited to sitting in silence. Many people practice various techniques that help them control their breathing and become more mindful of their body and its needs. If traditional meditation is not for you, you can try journaling, listening to a soothing song and different breathing techniques. To learn different ways you can dive into meditation, check out the full article at udw.org/udw-news.
- Box Breathing
Find a quiet place. Close your eyes. Start to slow down your breath. Picture a box and think of each side as a motion of your breath. Follow the following:
Inhale on a slow count of 4
Hold your breath at the top for 4
Exhale through the nose for 4
Hold empty at the bottom for 4
- Journal
Set a five-minute timer at the beginning of your day or right before bed and write whatever comes to mind! Whether it’s about your day, how you feel, or your dreams, journaling can help reduce stress, boost your mood, evoke mindfulness, and help you strengthen emotional health.
- Listen to a soothing song
Choose a soothing song, close your eyes, tune into the melody. Pay close attention to the instruments, words, harmonies, and lose yourself in the song. Take this time to relax your muscles, from your jaw to your ankles. Music is a great way to help quiet your mind and release pent-up tension in your body.
- 5-4-3-2-1 method
Use this method to help you practice mindfulness. Slow your breathing and identify the following for each of your senses:
- 5 things you see
- 4 things you can touch around you
- 3 things you can hear
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste
Whichever way you choose to take a moment to yourself is a great start! District 4 Vice Chair, Florence “Corie” Crowson, said it best, “You may be a hero, but even heroes can ask for help and support.”
