Travel Nurses: Stress Less with These Tips
You don’t have to be a traveling nurse to know that stress is bad, and finding ways to reduce it are good. Still, it never hurts to consider proven antidotes for stress; the statistics behind some solutions (to stress) may even surprise you.
Animal Lovers will be Pleased
For example, did you know that medical sources suggest that pet owners are 40% less likely to suffer a stroke or heart attack? Not a huge surprise considering that arterial flow problems are exacerbated by stress.
Commonalities among pet owners, like taking a walk every day and reaping the Vitamin D benefits of sunlight, help lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure. Plus, a dog is a natural conversation starter that could start a happy relationship—another way to check stress at the door.
More Stress Busters for Busy Healthcare Professionals
Here are a few other sources of stress and ways travel nurses can zap it into non-existence:
- Forgive and forget: Dwelling on how someone may have wronged you in the past is a detriment to our calm, while being forgiving helps us better understand a person’s actions and get on with our recovery and sense of peace.
- Pick some flowers: Vegetation was our primary sense of survival as caveman, so it makes sense that even now, millennia later, looking at nature improves our mood.
- Eat plenty of Omega 3 fatty acids so your nervous system benefits from the production of DHEA rather than cortisol; prepare healthy recipes from these easy to make recipes.
- Enjoy a 10 second kiss each day: Locking lips with a partner for this short amount of time produces tons of results—like the production of endorphins that make us happier and more productive.
But back to the case for pets, who integrate easily into travel nursing. R.N.s in home health nursing jobs have surely noticed that the presence of a pet cuts back on emotional outbursts for patients prone to them. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to point out to patients that pets—and this is the case when indulging in any enjoyable activity—can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine -- nerve transmitters that are known to have calming properties. One study mentioned in How to Live Longer With Pets mentioned that stroking a dog for 18 minutes caused a significant increase in secretory immunoglobulin A (IgA), your body’s natural antibody against invading germs. Wow!
50 States Staffing Offers Stress Free Travel Nursing Jobs. Pets Welcome!
If you don’t achieve these natural chemical surges with a pet, hugging a friend or partner, taking in a sunset or communing with nature will do the same thing for you; all this and more is a part of the travel nursing lifestyle. You can get tips on the best pets for travel nurses on exciting allied health and nursing jobs that span the 50 states when you call 1-800-996-2206 or apply online. Please know that you and man’s best friend are more than welcome on the nursing career path. Happy trails!
Footnote: This entertaining WebMD slide show on the health benefits of pet ownership was used in this blog, as well as 16 Ways to Destress from Allure Magazine. Also, interested R.N.s can click here for how to get the best out of travel nursing housing.