Nurse manager stress relief plan

Are you stressed?

Answer the following questions:

·  Are your shoulders too close to your earlobes?

·  Are you tapping or shaking your foot or fingers?

·  Do you feel tired enough that you could lie down and take a nap?

·  Are you worrying about what happened yesterday or the day before?

·  Are you feeling on edge?

·  Is your breathing shallow?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are overstressed. As a nurse, you know how dangerous too much stress can be. Your blood pressure goes up, you put out excess adrenaline, and your productivity levels actually go down.

The first step to dispelling stress is to acknowledge it, and the second is to make a conscious effort to make it go away.

1. Smile! It’s free, easy, and doesn’t cost a thing.

Researchers have demonstrated the connection between neurotransmitters and hormones and the stress we feel. The simple act of smiling reduces production of those neurotransmitters and hormones and, thus, changes our physiology.

2. Breathe deeply. Take a deep breath and fill your lungs completely. This helps to dissipate tiredness and restore mental balance.

3. Exercise. We all know we should exercise, but in today’s hectic culture, we never seem to have enough time. But exercise is a significant stress reliever and rejuvenates the body and mind. And there are some ways you can fit exercise into your schedule without even knowing you’re doing it:

·  Use a couple of cans of soup as weights to life while reading. Doing a few reps with each arm will increase circulation and tone your arms at the same time.

·  While you’re sitting at your computer, squeeze your abdominal and gluteal muscles, hold them for a few seconds, and then release. This is something you can do all day long while sitting in your chair.

·  Try exercising your calves while sitting at your desk. Lift your legs up on the balls of your feet and set them down. Keep doing this until your legs are comfortably tired. Then repeat again about 10 minutes later. Do this whole routine for about an hour or so to exercise your calves.

·  If you’re working from home at night, take the report to the sofa, lie down, and do a few stomach crunches.

·  While you’re brushing your teeth in the morning, try some squats. (It’s best not to do this at night because exercising right before bed can make it tough to drop off to sleep.)