Healthcare Workers: How to Keep Up With Your Health and Fitness

Introduction

Keeping up with your health and fitness as a healthcare worker ensures that you give your patients the best attention. It allows you to be 100% invested in helping them get better.

However, finding time to do this can prove to be difficult given your busy schedule. This is why you need to make it a priority and make time for your improvement. To do this, here are a few things you should always consider.

Be Creative With Your Physical Fitness

Working out does not have to be a strenuous activity that requires you to invest in spending hours in the gym.

Your workout plan should be unique to your needs and fit into your work schedule. This is why you need to get creative and find ways to hit your daily targets without being too strained.

You could get into doing some yoga flows or desk exercises during your lunch break. Consider walking or cycling to work to get in some movement early in the morning.

You could alternatively get a standing desk that will allow you to work and still engage your body muscles. These exercises will help you stay alert and enthusiastic when tending to your patients.

Self Care

One of the easiest ways to boost your mental health is by investing time to work on yourself. Practicing self-care involves taking time each day to appreciate what you have and setting your intention for the day.

This will help you realize the blessings in your life and refocus your goals to help you be more focused to achieve them. Sitting by yourself in a quiet area with your thoughts is also important.

Learning more about meditation and how to control your thoughts and how you react to situations will help be more centered. You’ll be in a better headspace to attend to patients.

Knowing how to separate your work life from your personal life will help you achieve this. You’ll notice improved moods and better interactions with your colleagues and patients.

Improve Your Sleeping Habits

Create a daily evening routine that conditions your mind to realize that it’s time to get some sleep. This is the best way to be sure of a consistent night’s sleep despite the circumstances.

Having enough sleep will improve your attention at work and minimize any risks of errors while administering treatments. It will also go a long way to improving your immune system and leave your body feeling better.

Beware of the long hours you work to avoid being sleep deprived. Whenever you get the chance, try your best to get some sleep no matter how short.

Obviously this isn’t always going to be easy, especially if you work through the night. This can mess up your circadian rhythm. That said, there are things you can do. Here are some tips to help you stay fit if you’re a night shift worker.

Protect Yourself

As you work and interact with different people suffering from different illnesses you’re bound to get ill if you get exposed. This is why protecting yourself is paramount. Wearing the necessary gear provided by the hospital should be a priority.

Quality PPEs like those from www.hisomedical.com will help ensure that you are well protected. This will help you stay healthy even as you work on treating different serious sicknesses.

You should also aim to keep your hygiene maintained with the highest standards. This will help you keep germs and bacteria away even when you’re not wearing protective gear.

Eat Right

The type of food you eat affects your body’s function which in turn results in poor health and fitness. This is because food is the fuel to your body. You need to strive to give your body a healthy balanced diet with every meal.

This will ensure that your body gets all the necessary nutrients and vitamins that will boost your immune system. As you work on your fitness goals, you need to ensure that your food intake will help you get there. Make sure to eat the right food in the right portions to avoid having too much or too little.

Drink Lots of Water

Hydrating your body has numerous benefits including having an improved immune system and boosting recovery. After your workouts, your muscles will need to heal and repair which is the recovery period.

This recovery can get easier when you stick to drinking your water as you should. Aim to get in at least 8 glasses of water or more every day. Having such a goal will help you stick to drinking your water.

If plain water is not appealing, you have the option of infusing herbs or fruits that will improve the taste for you. Hydration will also help you keep up with the long shifts and daily requirements that need to be met.

Take Time Out ( Vacations)

Working all year round with no break will make you dull and slow. Taking time out of work to enjoy life, discover new things, and reconnect with family and friends is necessary. It will help you unwind, clear your mind, and regain your energy.

Taking a vacation doesn’t have to be expensive if you don’t want it to. You could always just stay in, keep away from your phone and binge-watch your favorite screenplays. The goal here is to have time to relax so that you can boost your health and get back to working on your patients with ease.

Conclusion

As a healthcare worker, you might get too concerned about your patient’s health that you end up neglecting your own.

However, this is not something that should be tolerated. Take your time to work on fitness, eat right, and take care of yourself. By doing these things you’ll be able to provide the best services to the sick.

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.