Technology has found its way into every aspect of our life. Aside from adopting tech solutions in the business world, tools and software now shape how care is practiced. Today, self-care has somehow become digital, data-driven, and person-centered.

For instance, if you’re losing precious moments to social media, you can easily install mindfulness apps to reset. If you have low vision, there are clinically validated, life-changing devices and low vision magnifiers you can get to correct the defect. Thus, tech shapes self-care in many ways, and this article explains how it does it.

What’s Self-Care?

Self-care involves taking care of oneself and practicing activities that promote good health. It enables people to manage their strengths and weaknesses better. It keeps you physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy. It improves the quality of life, builds your resilience, and gets you equipped with the self-understanding needed to face life.

Socrates is believed to have invented the concept of self-care in ancient Greece, and it remains one of the primary forms of health care. Healthy people practice self-care, but it’s more important for those who are sick. Keeping up with the stress of daily life can be draining. Therefore, self-care is one of the good ways to cope with anxiety, depression, and life stressors.

So, how can technology support self-care? There’s a proliferation of digital health tools and the need to meet self-care demands. Caregivers and caretakers adopt technology to support self-care through the following ways:

1. Reduce The Cost Of Self-Care

The cost of health care can be expensive, especially if you have to visit professionals. You pay for transportation and the service rendered. Technology makes self-care cost-effective because you can buy a device and learn how to use it at home. Once you have a device for yourself, you don’t need to visit a professional often to take good care of yourself.

2. Mood Tracking

Positive thinking is beneficial to our mental and emotional well-being. It prevents fatigue and decreases the level of anxiety. There are many positive thinking apps that patients can try to improve their overall happiness. Keeping a note of how you feel daily is an essential aspect of self-care. You can track changes in your mood and connect them with shifts in your hormones.

3. Home Telecare

Technology has enabled people to take self-care in the comfort of their homes. This reduces cost and makes it possible to practice self-care independently. Some examples of home self-care technologies include home telemedicine.

Home telemedicine is the delivery of clinical care, which includes consultation and diagnosing through telecommunication. Visual images and scans can be shared through this means. Home telemedicine aims to provide the service of professionals to rural communities.

Home telemonitoring can automate processes and transmit patient health data from the patient’s home to a healthcare worker. This technology aims to send information to professionals without the need for a patient visit.

4. Natural Sunlight Lamps

Staying indoors for long hours can negatively affect elderly and chronically ill patients. It can affect their mood and induce stress. Sunlight is essential for our mental health, and it reduces depression and anxiety. Natural sunlight lamp is a self-care product to purchase if you have a condition that makes you stay indoors. This lamp simulates natural sunlight and will give you a feel of the outside world.

5. Communication

Technology bridges the communication gap between the patient and the caregiver. Healthcare practitioners don’t live with their patients, and there might be a lot of work on some days that can hinder them from visiting them. Technology makes it possible for caregivers to communicate on such days and monitor the health of their patients.

6. Listening To Podcasts

Self-help podcasts can be listened to on various devices, but only a few people understand the benefits of this activity.

Using your devices almost every minute of the day can disrupt you from seeing the beauty of life and prevent you from getting good rest. Stress can begin to build up in your system if you’re not well-rested. This is where podcasts come in; they can help you relax, meditate, and reflect on life and its meaning. You can listen to one on your way to work or while preparing dinner to improve your mental and emotional health.

Conclusion

Lack of self-care is termed self-neglect. For a sick person to receive professional care, caregivers and personal care assistants adopt tech solutions. With technology in self-care, it’s possible to reduce healthcare costs and time spent giving it. Different types of technology can be used in self-care, but this is dependent on the patient’s condition. Whatever technology you decide on trying out, always ensure that self-care is the main priority.