Don’t Forget About
YOUR OWN S.E.L.F. CARE By Deborah Porter
For many of us parents, self-care is a special event, a massage, a mani/ pedi or a day at the spa. Welcomed experiences for sure and definitely something we look forward to. However, reducing self-care to events and experiences that happen occasionally or outside of our home runs the risk of the importance and priority being very low. Think of it this way: What if the only time you ate a meal was on a holiday and away from home? Or the only time for meaningful conversations with friends and family occurred when in need? Well, this is how we treat self-care. Like a birthday or Mother’s Day gift. Using S.E.L.F. as our acronym, let’s dive into what self-care can and should be on a daily basis.
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Sleep Far too many of us are normalizing lack of sleep. Sleep Foundation studies have shown that prolonged periods of little sleep (less than seven hours a night for adults) can contribute to a compromised immune system, hormonal abnormalities and mental health issues. Remember the time you spent educating your soon-to-be college student about getting enough sleep? Suggesting they turn off their screens late at night, monitor their caffeine intake and not stay up into the wee hours trying to finish the assignment they procrastinated about? Well, it’s not that much different for us. The same rules apply if we want to improve our sleep habits. One thing I’ve added to my nighttime routine is a brain dump. I keep a notepad and pen by my bed and, just before turning out the light, I take all of those lingering thoughts and dump them into this notebook (or occasionally a voice memo on my phone). This provides a place for all of the to-do lists, that otherwise swim around in my head at night, to live.
Fall 2021
