Recognizing the Importance of Rest: Why Nurses Need to Take Breaks

Are you a nurse? Whether you’re a registered nurse, nurse practitioner, or student enrolled in online ABSN programs, it’s an incredibly rewarding and challenging job. You get to work with society’s most vulnerable – the ill, infirm, elderly, and those with severe medical issues. The care you provide can save lives. That’s why it is essential to prioritize taking breaks and getting adequate rest. This helpful article will explain the importance of rest and why self-care is important for nurses. Continue reading to learn more.

Lack of Rest Impacts Your Physical Health

A lack of rest and self-care can have impacts on your physical health. When we don’t prioritize rest and relaxation, our bodies can go into overdrive. By burning the candle at both ends, you can end up exhausted, and your immune system can suffer. This can make you prone to getting sick, and a sick nurse has to take time off anyway so they don’t infect patients. A lack of rest can also make you more prone to workplace injuries or other adverse events. It is essential to take some time off for rest and relaxation to keep your physical health in the best condition, so you can continue to be an excellent nurse providing the best in patient care.

Rest Promotes Good Mental Health

Taking time off for self-care and rest promotes improved mental health. Being a nurse, you’re always caring for others. However, should your mental health suffer as a result of burnout, you may find yourself unable to work as you need to recover. Also, stress as a nurse, or any stress for humans, releases the hormone called cortisol, which puts our brain into fight or flight mode. This can have negative effects on your mental health and left unchecked; you might develop mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety, or both. Nurses must take breaks in order to manage their mental health and well-being proactively.

Poor Sleep

Nursing is a rewarding and excellent career to embark on, but if you work for too long without a break and become tired and stressed, your quality of sleep could suffer. Without adequate sleep, your performance as a nurse, as with any other career, will suffer, and the above impacts on your physical and mental health will exacerbate. Taking some time off to practice self-care will improve your quality of sleep and your overall well-being. 

You Might Feel Detached From Your Work

Burnout can cause detachment from work, which is the last thing you want as a nurse. You want to feel engaged and connected to your work and your patients, so in order to remain engaged at work, you should take some time off if you’re feeling this way. 

Worn Out Nurses and Patient Care

It logically follows that nurses with worn-out brains and bodies aren’t going to be able to provide the top-notch patient care that patients deserve. When we’re tired and stressed, we make mistakes. Patient care can suffer as a result of burnt-out nurses, so that’s why it is incredibly important to rest and take time off. Patient care should be your top priority as a nurse, and you want to be in the best condition possible in order to provide the very best care that you can. 

Take Leave or Paid Time Off

One way you can guarantee a period of rest is to use your leave or paid time off to rest, relax, and recharge your batteries. Most nurses are employed permanently, and depending on your employer you should have access to some paid leave or time off. You must use this paid time to focus on self-care so you can come back to work refreshed, ready, and firing on all cylinders to properly look after patients and attend to your other nursing duties to the best of your capacity and ability. 

Improved Job Satisfaction

For all careers, our job satisfaction is increased if we take regular breaks. This is the case for nursing as well. Even though you may love your job, love your patients, and enjoy work, working for too long without breaks can decrease your job satisfaction. In order to truly appreciate your work and feel the best about what you do, it is important to prioritize some rest to feel great about your nursing career. 

Reduce Loss of Morale

When we work for too long without adequate breaks, our morale can suffer. It is vital that nurses maintain high morale to inspire their colleagues and maintain a measured and professional demeanor when facing patients. If you find yourself tired, cranky, and burnt out, your morale can suffer, and it can also impact the other members of your team and the patients you’re attending to. The best thing to do in this case is to take some time off, recharge, and return to work fully engaged and with a high level of morale. 

Making Rest a Priority

This informative article has discussed the importance of getting enough rest and taking regular breaks as a nurse. We’ve explained the risks associated with not taking enough time off work and why it is important for patient care and one’s well-being to prioritize physical and mental health as a nurse.