Carers Week 2020: Mindfulness

In our final blog post for family carers, we are focussing on mindfulness. Taking care of your mind is just as important as taking care of your body. If you’re new to mindfulness, here are our top picks for free* mindfulness apps:

Headspace – designed to help you train your mind and body for a healthier, happier life and get the most out of your day.

Calm – this app includes guided meditation sessions covering the basics of mindfulness. If you’re looking to improve your sleep patterns, ‘Sleep Stories’ are bedtime stories for adults ‘guaranteed to lull you to sleep’.

Aura – this app learns about you by asking questions. You then receive a daily three-minute mindfulness meditation based on your answers.

Stop, Breathe & Think – offers a personalised meditation and mindfulness experience.

Insight Timer – lets you share and discuss your mindfulness experience with people around the world. There’s a packed library of guided meditations led by the world’s top mindfulness experts and meditation teachers to help calm the mind, reduce anxiety, manage sleep and improve happiness.

*Each app is free to download but some have the option to subscribe and pay for premium content.

There are a whole range of other resources available to support your health and wellbeing. Here are some of our favourites:

Podcasts
• The Deliciously Ella Podcast
• Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee
• Food for Thought with Rhiannon Lambert
• Three-minute Mindfulness Breathing Space
• The Calmer You Podcast with Chloe Brotheridge

Books
• The Self Care Project by Jayne Hardy
• The Art of Being Brilliant by Andy Cope and Andy Whittaker
• Happy: Finding Joy in Every Day and Letting Go of Perfect by Fearne Cotton
• Take a Moment: Activities to Refocus, Recentre and Relax Wherever You Are, in partnership with Mind and Michael O’Mara
• Self-Care for the Real World: Practical Self-Care Advice for Everyday Life by Nadia Narain and Katia Narain Phillips

We hope you have found our blogs for Carers Week 2020 useful. If you would to know how Right at Home can support you to take a break from caring for a loved one, you can read about our respite care services or contact your local Right at Home office. For many families, we are a trusted and familiar face that gives them peace of mind that their loved one is in safe hands whilst they take time for themselves.

Read blog one: Carers Week 2020: Supporting family carers
Read blog two: Carers Week 2020: Exercise
Read blog three: Carers Week 2020: Nutrition
Read blog four: Carers Week 2020: Sleep Hygiene