In Honor of National Nurses Week: Reduce Your Stress

National Nurses Week just ended. This month also happens to be the one-year anniversary of the launch of my podcast, Reduce Your Stress with Tim Ringgold. I didn’t know it was national nurses week when I launched the pod last year, but it seems kind of providential considering the podcast was specifically created to help healthcare professionals…like nurses. 

An Idea Was Born

You see, one night last March while I was  sitting there freaking about COVID, and I decided to pick up my guitar and do a Facebook Live. I just played something peaceful to calm my nerves. When I was done, I thought, ‘that was fun.’

So I went back and did it again the next night. And the next night. And the next. I did it every night for 40 nights in a row.

Initially, the idea of streaming 40 tracks in 40 nights never even crossed my mind, but as I continued, I saw the comments stacking up – fans telling me they were setting reminders so they’d know when to catch me “live.” People on the East Coast were falling asleep to the music. On the West coast, they were cooking dinner to it. I had absolutely no idea that this would take off the way it did.

The gears in my head started turning with ideas of how I could let more people hear this – people who really needed it. And then I thought of my fellow healthcare professionals who were consumed by the COVID pandemic around the world. At first, I wanted to put all the tracks together on a few albums. But that would take too long. My wife had another idea – do a weekly podcast and trickle it out over time.

And the “Reduce Your Stress with Tim Ringgold” podcast was born.

Since the introduction of the podcast in May of 2020, we’ve also added a few expert interviews from our Stress Elimination Summit as well as interviews with other artists who are creating relaxation music.

How Music Can Help

Healthcare professionals have to commute to work for their shift, so the idea is to listen to the podcast on the commute in, to relax the nervous system so they can show up at work powerfully for the people they serve. But then they can listen to it on the commute home too, after a tough shift, and it turns off the stress response for them a second time. And now they can show up at home peacefully for the people they love.

If you or someone you know is a stressed-out healthcare professional, such as a nurse, I humbly request you check out the podcast. Each original music episode is a composition of relaxing instrumental acoustic guitar using a loop pedal. Think: Enya, but with guitar. The purpose of the music is to help turn off your stress on the way into work, so you can show up powerfully for those you serve. Then listen again on the way home so you can show up peacefully and be present for those you love. 

The music compositions are approximately 10 minutes in length, so it’s not a big-time commitment, and by the time you get to the end of one, your nervous system is in a different gear than when you began it. Try it, and if you only want to use it one way, meaning on the way in or the way home, no problem!

The Difference?

When I started this venture, I of course hoped that it would make a positive difference in the lives of healthcare professionals. The feedback seems to indicate that it has done that! But don’t take my word for it, check out a couple of the reviews.

Now What?

Are you a healthcare professional feeling the impacts of stress and burnout? Do you want to get even just a few minutes of stress relief, without having to take any extra time out of your day? You can have the same calming peaceful results as some of our other listeners.

In honor of National Nurses Week, feel free to share with a nurse you know! You can find the Reduce Your Stress Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or pretty much any other podcast platform.