The Oasis You Need
Summer is a great time for driving an automobile far distances. Why is this? It’s because children are out of school, the weather is gorgeous and others are taking a vacation from work or the new trend of workcations. Imagine this large number of cars on American roads. It’s estimated that “60.6 million will travel 50 miles or more by car over Independence Day week.”¹ That’s a lot of cars on the road!
A good number of people may drive for four hours or more.
That’s when they might experience the following:
Muscle fatigue
Eye strain
Sluggishness, become less alert
Can affect your mood
Road conditions vary widely. Different terrain, and traffic patterns.
Hours are long
Sometimes, it feels like you’re a solitary driver on a long, lonely road
In some ways, long-distance driving has a lot in common with being a family caregiver.
Both require that you pay keen attention at all times.
The stakes are high if you lose concentration even for a split second.
In both instances, the lives of others are literally in your hands.
An Oasis
CalTrans has Safety Roadside Rest Areas. It’s like an oasis where drivers can rest. This might include taking a nap or switching drivers. Of course, bathroom breaks are possible. Or they can use their cell phone. Most importantly, it’s where “…drivers restore their energy and driving alertness… ”²
Safety Roadside Rest Areas are popular with Yelp® Reviewers and Google® Reviewers. Who knows how many accidents or frayed nerves have been avoided due to these rest areas?
Family Caregivers Need A Rest From Caregiving
Are there rest areas for family caregivers? What could this look like? For starters, take time to be still. You wouldn’t be providing care. Enter the idea of a respite. You’ll benefit from being refreshed. Slowly your alertness will come back.
What happens if you provide caregiving for long hours without taking a break? Possible caregiver burnout. You could experience various forms of exhaustion. You might not be as sharp in attending to the details of family caregiving. Your health could suffer from symptoms such as body aches and mood swings. You might have less energy to invest in your relationships. Respite could remedy this.
May I suggest that a respite involves three components similar to a Safety Road Rest Area. These are: Park and Rest. Rejuvenate. Participating in all these increases the alertness required for family caregiving.
How Family Caregivers Can "Park And Rest"
You can park and rest when someone you like and trust is taking your place. As a result, you’ll come back from a respite facing less disorder. How do you arrange for this?
Here are some guidelines for the stand-in caregiver:
They are background-checked. Department of Justice background checked and Federal Bureau of Investigations Fingerprinted.
Selected because they love working with the elderly.
They understand the routines you’ve communicated to them.
The stand-in caregiver would need to establish rapport quickly. They would know how to put your elderly loved one at ease and engage them in friendly conversation.
They would need to be flexible.
They provide timely feedback. It will help you make informed decisions.
Rejuvenate
Look for those activities that will give you energy.
Regularly get into nature. Recent studies have shown that spending time outdoors (as long as people feel safe) can help reduce stress and may have these other benefits³ - (it can):
lower blood pressure
lower stress hormone levels
reduce nervous system arousal
enhance immune system function
increase self-esteem
reduce anxiety
improve mood
These researchers recommended a target of spending two hours outdoors a week4 for best results.
I can attest to the benefits of regularly spending time in nature. Each week I spend approximately two days at the absolute gem of a park called Barney Schwartz Park in Paso Robles. On each visit, I spend about an hour there. I’ve come away from the visits super refreshed! In a future blog, I’ll review this delightful park.
Activities For Refreshment
Try activities different from family caregiving. There are so many options. I want to provide a small sample of what is available. Please see the resources list for more information on these respective activities. Personalize your list of past times to enjoy during your respite.
Multiflora Garden club – from their website and their public facebook® group pages respectively, see resources list below: “Garden Club public meetings are held monthly September – May on the 2nd Wednesday from 12 – 3p at Centennial Park (Live Oak Room, unless notified otherwise), 600 Nickerson Drive, Paso Robles, CA. It serves Northern San Luis Obispo County. Currently, the membership is 110 and draws from Santa Margarita to King City”
City of Paso Robles Recreation Services. Look through and register online for classes, lessons, leagues and events. See the resources list below for the url.
Studios on the Park
1130 Pine Street, Paso Robles, CA
Enjoy the wonderful showcase of art from multiple artists – adults and children. Art education is featured for all ages. Classes are available for a cost.
Visit their website: https://studiosonthepark.org/
Class catalog: https://studiosonthepark.org/classes-workshops/#classes
Paso Robles Pioneer Museum
2010 Riverside Avenue
Paso Robles, CA
Area heritage is preserved and featured in written and visual form.
Visit their website: https://pasoroblespioneermuseum.org/
House of Bread in SLO Cooking classes
1025 Farmhouse Lane
San Luis Obispo, CA
Click onto their website, and navigate on their main menu to their class catalog (note, classes are at their Farmhouse Lane store:
How our agency can help
We arrange for a proper background check. We select candidates who love to serve the elderly. Our caregivers have one thing in common, they know how to quickly develop rapport with your elderly loved one. They promote trust. They allow family caregivers to enjoy the respite they truly deserve. Call us for more information. Telephone: 805-238-3500.
Conclusion
Family caregivers provide a valuable service. You often juggle other responsibilities. You may feel ‘road weary’. You might think that you’re by yourself on a long, lonely journey. Take heart. You’re not alone. Help is near. It’s just like a rest stop. It’s called a respite and it promises refreshment. When will you take that step to ensure that you enjoy a ‘rest’ from your family caregiving?
Resources list:
Cleveland Clinic. Caregiver Burnout. (8-16-23). (Retrieved 6-26-24) from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9225-caregiver-burnout
Multiflora Garden Club.
Website: https://sites.google.com/view/multiflora-garden-club/home
From their website: “Garden Club public meetings are held monthly September – May on the 2nd Wednesday from 12 – 3p at Centennial Park (Live Oak Room, unless notified otherwise), 600 Nickerson Drive, Paso Robles, CA. Time: 12-1p Social time and club business, followed by a guest speaker 1-3p.
The Multiflora Garden Club provides programs and activities to enhance our gardening and landscaping endeavors.”
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MultifloraGardenClub.1/
City of Paso Robles website, Recreation Services page: https://www.prcity.com/268/Recreation-Services For information on classes, lessons, leagues, and events and to access registration online click on this url: https://anc.apm.activecommunities.com/prcityrecreation/home?onlineSiteId=0&locale=en-US&from_original_cui=true scroll down and see the left image which reads “Register Now – Activities”. Click on the image. Then type in the search bar activities you might be interested in.
Bavarian Motor Work (BMW). (8-27-19) How to stay awake while driving – what really helps: Long distance driving makes you tired, so falling asleep is a real danger. But how do you prevent that? Coffee? Loud music? Or a break and a cat nap? Read on for the best tips on how to stay awake while driving. (Retrieved 6-26-24) from: https://www.bmw.com/en/automotive-life/how-to-stay-awake-while-driving.html
Footnotes:
¹Diaz, Aixa. (American Automobile Association) AAA Newsroom (6-20-24). Nearly 71 Million People Expected to Travel over July 4th Week: This year’s extended Independence Day forecast exceeds pre-pandemic numbers, sets new record. (Retrieved 6-24-24) from: https://newsroom.aaa.com/2024/06/july-4th/
²Caltrans. Safety Roadside Rest Areas. (Retrieved 6-24-24) from: https://dot.ca.gov/programs/design/lap-landscape-architecture-and-community-livability/lap-liv-h-safety-roadside-rest-areas
³Robbins, Jim. Yale Environment 360. Published at the Yale School of the Environment. (1-9-20). Ecopsychology: How Immersion in Nature Benefits Your Health: A growing body of research points to the beneficial effects that exposure to the natural world has on health, reducing stress and promoting healing. Now, policymakers, employers, and healthcare providers are increasingly considering the human need for nature in how they plan and operate. (Retrieved 6-27-24) from: https://e360.yale.edu/features/ecopsychology-how-immersion-in-nature-benefits-your-health#:~:text=Attention%20Deficit%20Disorder%20and%20aggression,and%20lifted%20mood%20among%20patients.
4ibid.,
Notes:
In the section entitled Activities for Refreshment, the recommended businesses or organizations are for informational purposes only. There exists no implied endorsement of these businesses or organizations. Likewise, it is not implied that these businesses and organizations endorse Christian Love Home Care.
