Nursing home reduces stress with inmu-mindfulness

At Lillevang nursing home, they have found an innovative way to prevent stress and reduce sickness absence. Like many other facilities, they are experiencing major challenges in recruiting and preventing staff from leaving. In the last 9 months, they have introduced a new initiative that has improved staff well-being and given employees more energy.

Three times a week, they do short guided mindfulness sessions with inmuRELAX – meditative exercises with slow movements and contemplation. Staff find that the soothing music and vibrations give them a life-giving break and remove stress from the body. “It invites contemplation – simply hold it and the music starts playing. Some of my colleagues say ‘ahh’ and a deep sigh is heard,” says Katja Halladin Rauh, dementia counsellor and well-being coach at the nursing home.

In the beginning, there was a lot of concern about whether it would be possible for the staff to spend time for contemplation in a busy day. Would they be disturbed by care tasks? Could they all participate at the same time? Their solution was to start the weekly staff meeting with a short inmu-mindfulness session. Furthermore, the staff do inmu-mindfulness in the common room together with the residents. It works far beyond expectations. It has now become a regular routine that staff and residents do inmu-mindfulness together a couple of times a week. Everyone has their own inmuRELAX. Of course, not all residents are able to follow the exercises, but everyone participates as best they can. Some residents just sit with an inmu in their lap. There is a special atmosphere – a contemplation that affects everyone. Katja says that on one occasion a handyman passed by. He quickly withdrew when he felt the atmosphere of contemplation. Apart from that, they are not disturbed. The residents are completely calm.

It has become a ritual to practise inmu-mindfulness together. Something they wouldn’t want to miss. If, on rare occasions, the two coordinators are both unable to attend, another member of the staff volunteers to step in.

The staff feel that they have more energy. They also find that their calmness spreads to the residents. Since the introduction of inmu-mindfulness, they have experienced fewer incidents of agitated behaviour. The staff have no doubt that this is due to the greater calm and peace of mind they have gained themselves.

Since the introduction of inmu-mindfulness, it has become common practice to take a moment alone with an inmuRELAX when you feel the need. Encouraged by the management, there is now a new culture and understanding of the importance of taking small breaks to prevent stress and burnout.

Feeling care-weary and burnt out is a key reason why many staff members leave the care sector. With the new initiatives, a number of staff members have reported that they feel that they have more time for activities and for their families when they return home. As an additional initiative, some staff were offered the opportunity to borrow an inmuRELAX to take home. This has been an extra help for better relaxation and better sleep.

Since they started using mindfulness, health and safety representative Selda Ziyanak has noticed a reduction in sickness absence. “We can definitely feel a difference in our employees’ well-being,” agree dementia consultant Marianne Rye Søndergaard and manager Majbritt Tillgreen Jensen.

Please contact us for further information. We also offer free mindfulness video courses on inmuACADEMY.

Be sure to watch the inmu mindfulness video from the nursing home.

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