Vacations Can Recharge Caregivers

America is known for its hard workers. The Center for Economic Policy and Research gave it a nickname–“No Vacation Nation”–in a study that examined paid vacation time in 21 wealthy countries. No surprise, America ranks last in the legally required number of paid vacation days and holidays.

There are plenty of downsides to those facts. For example, one study showed that working more than 55 hours a week is associated with a 35% higher risk of stroke. That health risk persists even after a person stops working 55 hours a week. And that data doesn’t even account for unpaid labor like family caregivers. Caregivers deserve vacations, too!

Vacation time offers many health benefits, including:

• Increases mindfulness: The act of breaking your normal routine forces you out of “autopilot” and makes your brain focus more on your surroundings.
• Improves heart health: Taking regular vacations is associated with a decreased risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of health issues that raise the risk of heart disease.
• Reduces stress: Time away from your everyday environment removes you from the place you may associate with stress and anxiety.

Those health benefits make you a better caregiver! As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup. So why aren’t family caregivers taking the vacations they so obviously deserve?

Family caregivers can face many barriers that prevent them from enjoying a restorative vacation. Here are some of the things that can get in the way, and how to deal with them.

Time. Family caregiving is a demanding job, and rarely does it offer paid time off. And if the caregiver does have another job (as is common) it’s likely that much of any paid time off is used to provide care for their loved ones. Consider hiring professional caregivers or asking other friends or family members to pitch. Be sure to be upfront with other family members about the cost of hiring professional care, and ask them to help.

“Ideally,” Paul explains, “you’d have a plan in place to give yourself some regularly scheduled breaks when you begin your caregiving journey.” And he stresses that it doesn’t necessarily need to be in-home care. Some of his clients use a mix of home care and help outside the home in the form of an adult day center or other community-based services. There are many adult day centers around the Twin Cities, including some that specialize in caring for veterans or other specific communities.

Money. Budgets can be tight for family caregivers. The AARP reports that family caregivers spend 26% of their income on caregiving activities, and many cut back hours at work to provide care. But a vacation doesn’t need to be extravagant. Ask around for discounts or consider off-season travel. Seek out low-cost activities like museums or national parks. Eating out can be expensive, so plan your meals and pack snacks to keep your vacations in your budget.

Caregiving requirements. Perhaps you have convinced yourself that you are the only person capable of proving care for your loved one in the manner they prefer. Maybe they have a complicated medical history or require high levels of support. But (literally) rest assured, there are capable professionals who are ready to handle whatever care your loved one needs. Respite care is available from skilled nursing facilities, and professional caregivers can come to wherever your loved one needs them. The change of pace and new face may even be enjoyable for them!

Paul’s team works to carefully match caregivers with a client. “Our initial assessment identifies what each person’s needs are and then we find the right person based on availability and fit,” explains Paul. And because all his caregivers are trained to do all the care services that we provide, families needn’t worry that they will need to switch caregivers as their needs grow or change. As long as a caregiver can fit those needs into their schedule, changes in care needs can be accommodated.

Guilt. Guilt is a difficult emotion that is all too common in family caregiving. If the person receiving care is a parent or spouse, it can be extra hard to step away. After all, your mother raised you! Or you pledged an oath to your spouse “in sickness and in health,” so you may feel that taking a break for yourself is selfish or unreasonable. But try and give yourself the grace you would give someone else in your shoes. No one person can do it all alone, and you endanger your own health when you do not take time away from caregiving.

Over the 22 years that Paul Blom has owned the Right at Home Twin Cities, he’s seen a lot of burned-out family caregivers. “They finally come to us because they are at their wits’ end,” Paul says. “So many times when they do come, it’s so late in the process that the caregiver has sacrificed their own health. They can become hospitalized, and then their loved one needs to go into a nursing home or other long-term care.”

He recently brought on a client whose 100-year-old mother is living with her. The daughter had recently decided to have a Right at Home caregiver come in three hours a week so she can take a walk or run personal errands. “You can just see the relief in her face. Her mother doesn’t need a high level of care, but she does need someone nearby,” Paul says. He was able to match the mother with a caregiver who lives less than a mile away.

Caregivers need to care for themselves in order to provide care for a loved one. So take the time to rest up and get away. Right at Home can provide respite care so caregivers can take a break knowing their loved one is in good hands.

“I can’t stress enough how much people need to take a break,” Paul says. Respite caregivers can come in to give family caregivers regular breaks, but they are also available to help in other situations, as well. Respite care can also assist when there are family events like weddings and funerals. “Perhaps the person you care for can travel, but during the event you want to be able to be present,” says Paul. “Our caregivers can accompany people to these events and be the main caregiver so family members can concentrate and spending valuable time with relatives and loved ones.”

Contact Paul at Right at Home Twin Cities for a free, in-home assessment to learn how you can bring balance to your role as a family caregiver.