Investing in Yourself: Your Health

As moms, we take care of everybody in our family: our kids, our spouses, our pets. It's in our job description, and it's just what we do. So . . . who's taking care of you? More specifically, who is looking after your health? So often, we'll meet others' needs well before even thinking about our own. Get a healthy snack for Junior's soccer practice. Check. Make sure Fido's dog food is certified organic. Check. Send the hubby a reminder text that his eye appointment is at 5. Check. Sound familiar? Now is the time to add yourself to that list and make sure you're not neglecting investing in a very important aspect of you: your health. Here are some simple ideas to get you started on the road to making your health a priority in your life.

Get Some Zzzz's

Some of you are rolling your eyes right about now. Between work, the house and the toddler who still thinks 3 a.m. is a good time to wake up, you're barely managing a few hours' worth of sleep at night. We all have heard that getting a good 7-9 hours of solid sleep is key to good health; sometimes putting that recommendation into action can be troublesome. If it's an infant or wakeful child interrupting your nightly beauty sleep, "swapping" nights with your hubby where he's in charge of putting your nightowl back to sleep, say, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, can help you catch up on some much needed rest. If waking children aren't an issue but thoughts-gone-rampant are, perhaps journaling a few minutes each night before bed might help tamp them down. Take a few minutes to really consider what is disrupting your solid stretch of sleep and, once identified, put together a plan of action to reclaim those blissful and necessary hours of rest.

De-stress

Stress is something we all pretty much have in common. Sometimes it's work, or a stage the kids are going through, or even family dynamics that give us heaping servings of stress. You'd probably agree, too, there are things in life we have no control over that crop up from time to time that will make our blood pressure spike. Whatever the cause, finding a way to deal and cope with the stressors in our lives can improve our health and outlook on life. Make a plan of action now on what it is that gets you back into your happy zone and then carry out that action. I know a mom who, when her kids were young, took a magazine to a nearby McDonald's, ordered a Coke and some fries, and had some very quiet time to get back to being herself. For me, when a day full of crying kids and nonstop diapers had me near the edge, I'd take a book to a nearby park overlooking a river and read (after the hubby got home, of course). Take steps to de-stress. Your mind, body and soul with thank you for it.

Keep Your Appointments

You wouldn't think of postponing your baby's one-year check up over and over until you forgot about it. Why, then, is it so easy for us moms to go along without scheduling our routine exams? Presumably, we want to be around for a long time to see our kids and our kids' kids grow. Neglecting professional care of our bodies is pretty much neglecting our health. Make it a point to get a yearly check up. Besides making sure all our parts are in good, working order, it's also a time to discuss with a medical professional any other issues in our lives we might want guidance about (diet, stress, etc.).

Investing in yourself is an investment you can't afford not to make. Make time and take time to take care of yourself and your health.

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