Self-Care for Caregivers: Why Your Health Matters Too

Self-care is any activity a person, family, or community engages in with the intention of improving health, preventing disease, managing conditions, and restoring health. For caregivers, it is not a luxury. Research has long documented that caregiving can be very demanding and over time may lead to poorer health for the caregiver — and the current data is stark.

Caregivers are less likely than others to get preventive health services like annual checkups, and as a result tend to have a higher risk of physical and mental health issues, sleep problems, and chronic conditions such as high blood pressure — they are even at an increased risk of premature death.^[1] In the 2025 national caregiving survey, nearly 1 in 5 caregivers reported fair or poor health directly attributable to their caregiving responsibilities.^[2] The Family Caregiver Alliance cites research finding that caregiving spouses aged 66–96 under mental or emotional strain have a 63 percent higher risk of dying than non-caregivers of the same age.^[3]

The Family Caregiver Alliance puts it in terms every airline passenger knows: put on your own oxygen mask before you assist anyone else.^[3] And the National Institute on Aging adds the practical version: taking time for yourself can actually make you a better caregiver.^[1]

The pillars of caregiver self-care

Sleep. Aim for seven to nine hours each night. Develop a relaxing bedtime routine and try to go to sleep and get up at the same time each day.^[1]

Movement. Find something active that you enjoy — walking, dancing, gardening, or playing with a pet. Even short periods of exercise are beneficial.^[1] See our full guide to exercise for caregivers.

Food. Eating well under time pressure is a skill — our nutrition guide covers current dietary guidance plus practical batch-cooking and pantry strategies.

Your own healthcare. Keep your own appointments, get recommended screenings and vaccines, and tell your doctor you are a caregiver — clinicians who know often connect caregivers with support groups and watch for stress-related conditions.^[4][1]

Real breaks. Make sure you have consistent breaks from caregiving responsibilities. Respite care — in-home respite, adult day care, or short-term residential care — exists exactly for this, and even a few hours of respite a week can improve your well-being.^[4]

Help you actually accept. Break large jobs into smaller tasks, keep a list of things that need doing, and let helpers choose what fits them.^[1] Ask for and accept help with specific, manageable tasks rather than waiting for someone to guess.^[3]

A note on medical tasks

Caregiving today often includes genuinely medical work: 37% of caregivers administer medications or medical treatments, and 77% of those report needing more advice about the tasks.^[3] Nationally, only 11% of caregivers have received medical training even though over half perform complex medical or nursing tasks.^[2] If that's you, ask the care recipient's medical team to walk you through anything you're unsure of — that's a reasonable request, not an imposition.