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5 Self-Care Habits for Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Response

Healthcare professionals in our community (and around the world) are working tirelessly to care for patients during the coronavirus outbreak. During this uncertain time, it's important for healthcare workers to remember to take care of themselves. Ochsner Health recommends these 5 self-care habits for healthcare workers:

1. Prioritize Your Time – Be sure to prioritize time for your basic and important needs. Eat well, schedule time with your family and prioritize sleep. Make a point to actively communicate your needs to your leaders and team members to avoid burn out.

2. Find Small Ways to Slow Down – Urgent requests and frequent changes can cause anyone to feel frayed and frantic. Intentionally find small ways to pause or slow down. Try to take 10 seconds to do some mindful breathing before switching to a new task. This will reset your autonomic nervous system and will help you center yourself. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to take regular breaks, even if they’re only a couple minutes. During your break, consider using a meditation app rather than mindlessly scrolling through Instagram.

3. Be Relational – Saying there is a lot happening right now is an understatement. Remember the power of the human connection and be intentional about calling, video chatting and other means of interaction with your loved ones. At work, check in with your colleagues, text each other funny family photos or even connect over lunch via Skype.

4. Keep Your Routines and Structure in Place – From exercise to family meals and school drop-off, this pandemic has thrown our cherished routines out of the window. Create and schedule new routines at home and work. You may have to move your workout to a different time, but don’t stop doing it. Family dinner may need to be shortened, but keep this time, even if it’s only 15 minutes.

5. Maintain Your Healthy Habits – Sign up for virtual exercise classes. Keep a gratitude journal and write down one thing you are grateful for each morning and evening. Maintain a healthy, well-balanced diet. Minimize your intake of alcohol and junk food.

    For the latest Ochsner updates on COVID-19, visit Ochsner.org/coronavirus