Power Naps To Prevent Burnout For Doctors

by Content Design / inCOVID-19, hospital supplies,

The medical profession in India is one of the most stressful and hectic career options. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to the increase in patient demand in hospital and clinics. The nature of the virus that has brought the whole world to a standstill has compelled doctors to take extreme measures to provide treatment and care for the patients and at the same time, tend to their own safety. Doctors and staff are overburdened to a state of exhaustion and burnout. This burnout is a result of the cultural, social and technological pressures that affect the profession on a regular basis and is amplified during such a pandemic.

Apart from the obvious effects of stress on the doctor’s personal physical and mental health, the burnout can also result in low quality patient care, high cost of the healthcare systems and medical errors. Given the present scenario, doctors and medical professionals are often working double shifts, long hours at a stretch and putting themselves in grave danger being in close proximity of the virus. They have to constantly worry having adequate supplies of PPE kits, protective gear and as well as deal with a shortage of regular hospital supplies.

Medical professionals have been taking a number of measures to keep up with the pressure of the job and the pandemic. One of the many ways to keep yourself away from a total burnout is to take sufficient breaks from the job. One needs to realise that you cannot keep on working continuously without rest. A doctors’ body needs the same amount of down time as anyone else, in order to be able to effectively care for the patient.

 

An effective relaxation technique is to take power naps. It has been proven via research that you can remain more alert, improve your cognitive functioning and reduce stress with naps. Even a short power nap between stressful working hours can make a huge difference. The length of the nap and the type of sleep helps determine the brain boosting benefits. Some of the benefits of short term sleep/ naps are given below.

  • Naps have numerous psychological benefits. It provides an easy and convenient way to relax and rejuvenate. It can feel like a pleasant, mini vacation to unwind.
  • Helps restore alertness, enhance performance, and bring down the chances of mistakes and accidents while working.
  • Taking naps mid-duty can also help provide a fresh mind-set and extended alertness in the period directly after the nap. This helps doctors to assess cases better and provide the best possible treatment procedure.
  • Taking naps helps maintain your body’s vitals that may be disrupted with lack of sleep. Blood pressure levels, oxygen flow and heart health are a few parameters that are kept in check with the help of nap. You can use a pulse oximeter to better analyse your oxygen levels. These can be easily availed at Smart Medical Buyer.

Tips for an Effective Nap

 

  • Avoid caffeine after 3 pm. It can disturb your sleep and stay in your system for a long time.
  • Avoid taking a nap for longer than 30 minutes, as post that you may enter deep sleep. It becomes difficult to wake up once you enter this state of sleep.
  • Ensure that you choose a quiet and peaceful environment for napping. Disturbance in your surroundings does not allow the body to rest despite a nap.