Did you know that 80% of older adults with long-term health conditions are cared for at home by family and friends? While informal caregivers take a huge amount of stress off the healthcare system, they take on a lot personally, often to the point where they end up needing care or treatment themselves. Self-care is so important for everyone but it's important that caregivers take care of themselves so they can better help others. Self-care tips for caregivers include the following:
1.Get enough sleep.
2. Make time to exercise and remain physically active.
3. Fuel your body with nutritious foods.
4. Review your own medications with your doctor or pharmacist to ensure they are safely meeting your personal wellness goals.
5. Stay social - personal connections play an important role in healthy aging.
6. Get support through support groups and access handbooks, toolkits and other resources online or in person. Case managers and support workers can help connect caregivers to services available in their community.
Remember, self-care is not selfish. Read our evidence based resources about caregiving below.
Self-care for caregivers
Featured Resources
- Blog Post: Can you relate? Options to improve support for unpaid caregivers
- Blog Post: Internet connections: Family caregivers of people with dementia may benefit from online support
- Web Resource Rating: Caregiver depression: Prevention counts
- Web Resource Rating: CSC: Caregiver self care
- Evidence Summary: Web-based support benefits caregivers of cancer patients
- Evidence Summary: Peer support programs may be a promising way to support caregivers of people with dementia
Get the latest content first. Sign up for free weekly email alerts.
Subscribe
DISCLAIMER: These summaries are provided for informational purposes only. They are not a substitute for advice from your own health care professional. The summaries may be reproduced for not-for-profit educational purposes only. Any other uses must be approved by the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal (info@mcmasteroptimalaging.org).
Many of our Blog Posts were written before the COVID-19 pandemic and thus do not necessarily reflect the latest public health recommendations. While the content of new and old blogs identify activities that support optimal aging, it is important to defer to the most current public health recommendations. Some of the activities suggested within these blogs may need to be modified or avoided altogether to comply with changing public health recommendations. To view the latest updates from the Public Health Agency of Canada, please visit their website.
Want the latest in aging research? Sign up for our email alerts.
Subscribe Our Content
About
Support for the Portal is largely provided by the Labarge Optimal Aging Initiative. AGE-WELL is a contributing partner. Help us to continue to provide direct and easy access to evidence-based information on health and social conditions to help you stay healthy, active and engaged as you grow older. Donate Today.
