40% of UK mothers admit to being stressed all the time. Motherhood can be one of the most challenging jobs on earth, but it has many moments of joy and fulfilment that you wouldn’t want to exchange for anything. A mom’s presence in the home indeed sets the pace for home and family care. In doing this, many mothers tend to put themselves on the back burner as they prioritise all other things but themselves. Do you identify that in yourself? If so, find out how you can place yourself on the front burner as you pay closer attention to your health.
- Observe yearly medical screening appointments
Time tends to move so quickly that before you know it, a year has already gone by. If you’re a mother, you likely forgot to book a single appointment the entire year to assess your overall well-being. If you’re in the habit of postponing your health checks, it’s time to put a stop to it. Women from the age of twenty-five are required to screen yearly for cervical cancer.
According to the UK’s Cancer Research, there are about 3,200 new cervical cases each year. Although this is a significant decline compared to a decade ago, it’s still paramount to get a screening for your peace of mind. Furthermore, a yearly dental check is also recommended since women are more at risk for oral problems, due to hormonal fluctuations experienced during teen years, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause.
Other tests you should be considering are mammogram, bone density test, glucose test, cholesterol test, etc. So, you see, you can’t ignore your health since many things could go wrong as you attend to others’ welfare. It also helps to know what medical conditions are prevalent among the women in your family; that should give you a fair idea of conditions you should be screened for yearly.
- Never underestimate the essence of sleep
Sleep is certainly not overrated; it’s the only time your body gets to be in a totally relaxed state as cells repair themselves. Denying yourself adequate sleep means losing out on the several benefits of snoozing. According to the Sleep Foundation, healthy adults require seven to nine hours of sound sleep every night. Now that can be a tricky one for a mum. Nonetheless, you don’t want to mess up with this routine as it could come back to bite you in the long run.
Admittedly, most mothers battle to sleep properly due to nightly interruptions either by kids or uncompleted work. For others, the culprit is a sleep disorder. Regardless of the contributing problem, it helps to take healthy and logical measures to get that beauty sleep. To resolve your sleep problem, you can try out the benefits of cbd, engage in yoga to calm the body, or indulge in a nightly soothing bath. It also helps to avoid copying what other moms do to sleep. You know yourself best, so engage in what best suits you.
- Ask for and accept help
These days, especially as another variant of the Coronavirus is raging in the UK, it can get quite tricky asking for help around the home. It’s alright if your support is already a member of your household, i.e., spouse, partner, a sibling, in-laws, or an older child. Asking for help doesn’t make you helpless; neither is accepting an offer. Instead, it helps you to acknowledge the unhealthy pressure you deal with daily and to alleviate it. The transitory release of responsibility can do so much for your body than you ordinarily would have thought.
“You can’t pour from an empty cup; take care of yourself first” holds real meaning for mothers especially. Putting yourself first in this situation doesn’t amount to selfishness. Instead, you can now be in a better physical, mental and emotional position to stretch yourself to care for others.