Officer Wellness

Practical stuff

Cop to cop. Not a program and not medical advice. The habits that hold up when the shift doesn't.

1. 01

   Decompress before you walk in the door

   Sit in the car for a minute. Change the channel in your head before you carry the shift into the house.

2. 02

   Protect sleep after shift work

   Black out the room, keep one anchor sleep time you actually defend, and cut caffeine well before you rack out.

3. 03

   Move daily, even 20 minutes

   A walk counts. You do not need a new program to start.

4. 04

   Watch the drinking

   One after shift is a habit. Using it to shut your head off is a different thing. Catch that early.

5. 05

   Keep one friend who isn't a cop

   You need at least one conversation that isn't the job.

6. 06

   Check on your partner after bad calls

   A text is enough. Don't wait for them to say they're not okay.

7. 07

   Get a financial plan for retirement and the pension

   Know the numbers before you need them. A pension is not a plan by itself.

8. 08

   Use peer support before it's a crisis

   The lines on this page are for the bad week, not only the worst night.

9. 09

   Talk to your family about the job at the level they can handle

   They don't need the worst call. They do need the truth about how you're doing.

Self-care

The job will not clock you out of your own head. This covers leaving the shift, what is common after a bad call, and the habits that keep the rest of your life. Not a substitute for care.

1. Take the uniform off

   Same shutdown, every time. Change clothes before you walk in, or sit in the car until the shift stays there. The house did not work that call.

2. After a critical incident

   Replaying the call, sleeping badly, being short, and feeling jumpy are common in the days after. Most of that eases. If it is still running the week, or you are drinking to get through it, use peer support or your department's CISM team. If you are in danger, use the lines at the top of this page.

3. Sleep when the schedule rotates

   Black out the room and defend one sleep block like it is evidence. Cut caffeine well before you rack out. Treat every day off like a weekend and the rotation will take the rest.

4. A breath you can use in the car

   Box breathing is a count, not a treatment. In for four, hold for four, out for four, hold for four, a few rounds before you go inside. If the holds wind you up, drop them and slow the exhale. The VA sheet and Mindfulness Coach walk you through it.

5. Train, or at least walk

   A 2024 BMJ review of 218 trials found exercise cut depression symptoms, with walking and jogging near the top. Some forms held up against therapy and meds in that analysis, though confidence was low. Lace up anyway, and keep your doctor.

   • Noetel et al., BMJ 2024(opens in a new tab)
   • Singh et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine 2023(opens in a new tab)
6. About 20 minutes outside

   In a 2019 study, 20 to 30 minutes somewhere that felt like nature dropped cortisol the most. They called that dose a nature pill, and they did not compare it with medication. Sitting counts, and nobody's timing your mile.

   • Hunter et al., Frontiers in Psychology 2019(opens in a new tab)
7. Brazilian jiu-jitsu

   Most of 312 officers who train told researchers they felt fitter, more confident, and less stressed. That's self-report, not a trial, but getting choked out does put paperwork in perspective.

   • Butler and Wang, Martial Arts Studies 2024(opens in a new tab)
   • Renden et al., 2015(opens in a new tab)
   • Willing et al., Military Medicine 2019(opens in a new tab)
8. A hobby that is not the job

   Keep one thing with no radio in it. Woodshop, fishing, a league, a book. Leave the hours empty and the job will book them.

9. Watch the drinking

   A beer after shift is a habit. Using it to shut your head off, or to sleep, is a different thing. If the count is climbing, deal with it now, not after a complaint or a crash.

10. Boundaries with the job

    Overtime and the group chat will take every hour you do not fence off. Pick what you answer on a day off. Working until you drop is how the job eats the rest of your life.

11. Hypervigilance off duty

    Scanning the room, back to the wall, waking up at a door: the job is still running. It kept you alive on duty. Off duty it just wears you out. You will not flip it off, so notice it and stand down on purpose.

12. Your people

    Keep one friend who does not wear a badge. Tell your family the truth at the level they can carry, not the worst call. Check on your partner after a bad one. Do not make them be the one who says they are cooked.

Pages worth reading

Official pages. No new phone numbers. If you need a person right now, the lines at the top are the move.

Peer support

People who have worn the uniform, answering the phone.

Spouse and family

The job lands on the people at home. These organizations are for them.

PTSD and sleep

The VA's own pages and a free app. Tools, not a diagnosis.

Fitness and nutrition

The federal baselines. Use them. Don't turn them into a personality.

Financial wellness

Pension math and loan forgiveness. Boring on purpose.

For the agency

What the COPS Office publishes on officer safety and wellness. Useful if you write policy, or if you want to know what your department should already have.