Working Caregiver- Caregiver Articles

Find Motivation and Energy...in Your Pillow!

Caregivers are busy; no one would deny that for a second, especially those of us who provide care for a senior family member, have a day job, and care for a family of our own. As a result, most of us working caregivers go without a substantial amount of sleep on a regular basis; and between our lack of energy from poor sleeping habits, and our hectic lifestyles, we often feel like we're dragging as we go through our days at home, at work, and with our senior care recipient. If you're like many of us, you probably feel like sleep should fall at the bottom of your priority list; you just don't have enough hours in the day to spend too much of it in bed. And, you, like many others, might feel that admitting you're not getting enough sleep or allowing yourself a quick nap during the day is a sign of weakness. Instead of sleeping more, you might turn to medications that give you a quick pick me up, or coffee and sugary foods that can give you a temporary boost of energy when you feel like you can't go on any more.

Well guess what? The best solution to help you get through every day is not coffee, it's not sugar, and it's not medication. The real solution really is quite obvious, because it's that thing we all avoid as caregivers; it's sleep! Of course, you do need to try and feel well rested when you wake up after sleeping at night, but you can also sneak in a quick nap during the day too. A quick 15 or 20 minute catnap can make all the difference, and give you the energy you need to get through the rest of the day. The 15 or 20 minutes might feel like time wasted, but in reality, it will allow you to be much more productive as you get through your workday, meet your responsibilities to your care recipient, and then go home to make dinner for your family and tuck your kids into bed.

Taking a nap won't just make you more alert and boost your energy, overall it will make you a better person; you'll feel less stressed, improve your short-term memory, help you be more patient, give you the ability to process information quickly and efficiently, and you'll feel substantially more motivated as well.

Don't delay; take a nap and don't feel guilty about it either. When you're refreshed and re-motivated, you'll be in a much better position to keep up with your responsibilities and take care of everyone else, but only after you've taken care of yourself first.