Self-care isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity for improving your health, managing chronic conditions, and avoiding serious illnesses.
Family Nurse Practitioner Merkita Lester helps patients with self-care by counseling them on quality sleep, diet and exercise, emotional wellness and more.
Your primary care provider can help you get your self-care routine on the right track so you can improve your health!
Self-care is a priority and necessity – not a luxury!
As a primary care provider, family nurse practitioner Merkita Lester, MSN, APRN, FNP-C tells patients self-care includes a broad range of practices and actions they can take to maintain and improve their health, prevent illness, and manage chronic conditions.
“I talk to patients about lifestyle changes for good reason – they truly are the first line of defense for preventing problems and improving your health!” she said.
“While I counsel every patient based on their individual needs, I’ve found there are five main categories of self-care that can benefit everyone.”
Proper sleep hygiene
Life is busy and stressful, so it’s no wonder people have trouble getting good sleep, Lester said. Improving sleep hygiene can help.
She recommends aiming for 8 hours of restful sleep every night.
“Self-care is not a luxury,” Family Nurse Practitioner Merkita Lester says. “It’s a necessity to increase longevity, enhance immune function, reduce risk of heart disease, and improve chronic health conditions.”
Start by turning off light-emitting devices before bedtime – put down your phone or tablet and shut off the TV. Also, sleep in a dark, cool, quiet space. Try soothing white noise from an app, sound machine. or fan to help you fall asleep and stay asleep.
Physical activity
“Getting enough exercise doesn’t have to be daunting,” Lester said. “In fact, it can even be fun!”
Aim for 150 minutes of physical activity weekly. “This can be any activity you enjoy – walking, jogging, biking, swimming, even dancing!” Lester said. “If you have an injury or illness that makes it difficult to stand, chair aerobics are a great way to exercise.”
Along with cardiovascular activity, strength training is important to build muscle, improve endurance, and increase bone density.
Well-balanced diet
Healthy eating goes hand-in-hand with exercise. Lester suggests focusing on eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean meats like fish or chicken.
While it’s OK to treat yourself, limit fast food, junk food, processed foods and fried foods. Also limit alcohol, soda, excessive caffeine, and sugary beverages.
Spiritual wellness
Lester said emotional self-care is just as important as physical self-care.
“Find out what you connect to when it comes to spiritual wellness,” she said. “For some people, that’s prayer and religion. For others, it’s meditation and inspirational books.”
Cardiovascular exercise and strength training are key self-care habits that can improve your health. Aim to get 150 minutes of exercise every week.
No matter what you choose, carve out at least 30 minutes to yourself daily. You can break it up if you like – take 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening.
Lester also said to work on reducing stress through meditation, nature walks, breathing exercises, etc. “I also tell patients to disconnect from social media. You don’t have to eliminate it…but set limits so you can be present and maintain perspective.”
Social wellness
Self-care also involves nurturing healthy relationships.
Lester noted volunteering is a great way to meet like-minded people. She also suggests being intentional about setting aside time to bond with family and friends and getting together to do things you enjoy and find meaningful.
“At the same time, it’s OK to say no!” she said. “Set boundaries based on mutual respect and understanding, and don’t be afraid to enforce those boundaries if needed.”
“Remember, self-care is not a luxury,” Lester said. “It’s a necessity to increase longevity, enhance immune function, reduce risk of heart disease, and improve chronic health conditions.”