Caring for older adults is not an easy job, especially for caregivers who are in it alone. Sole caregivers need to employ various techniques to avoid being overwhelmed by their job's stressful nature and demands. If you are caring for a senior adult, you will be pleased to learn that you can employ several stress relief techniques to avoid caregiver burnout.
One of the best ways to avoid stress is by engaging TruBlue of Centennial/Parker to ensure that your senior’s home environment is pleasant and conducive for their specific needs. When your senior is in a safe and enabling environment, it will reduce their dependence on you by allowing them to securely perform some minor tasks without your assistance or supervision. This article will cover seven essential stress relief techniques that help caregivers and seniors cope with stress, frustration, and low moods.
Get an exercise routine
Exercise is the gift that keeps on giving, and putting a load on your body can take the burden off your mind. Exerting physical stress on your body, e.g., yoga, pilates, walking, running, dancing, skipping, or swimming, has been proven to reduce mental stress. Regular exercise can lower your body’s stress hormone levels and stimulate the release of endorphins, your body’s natural feel-good hormones.Stress often interferes with our natural sleep patterns, and exercise solves this problem too. When stress affects your sleep, it creates a chain reaction that causes more stress and less sleep the longer it continues. You should find a form of exercise that you enjoy and that suits your physical capabilities.
Maintain a hobby or get a new one
It would help not to let caregiving take over your entire schedule. It is essential to maintain your interests outside your caregiving role. Keeping up with some of your hobbies is a great way to get out of your head and make yourself feel refreshed. If your old hobbies do not fit in your caregiving schedule, you can take up a new hobby from the multiple ones that have been proven to have stress-relieving capabilities.Art is a timeless hobby that helps release pent-up emotions. Research has proven that colouring, beading, painting, and similar activities have a meditative effect on your mind because they make you deeply engrossed and thus help you to relax and relieve your stress. Adult colouring books are simple, low maintenance, and a trendy stress relief tool.
Play your favourite tunes
Music is a tested stress reliever that can also lift your spirits, and it also functions as a distraction that makes it easier to work, relax, sleep or meditate. Some kinds of music, especially slow classical compositions, can slow the heart rate and pulse, reduce blood pressure and decrease stress hormones.Create different playlists for different tasks and moods. This way, you can move to a beat whether you are cleaning up, having some downtime, or even reading a book. Finding a way to incorporate your favourite music into your everyday life is a sure way to keep stress at bay.