Taking care of yourself increases what you are physically available to do for others.

Care for yourself is often framed as competing with generosity, as though every hour spent on rest or health is an hour taken from someone. In practice the arithmetic runs the other way. The energy, patience, and physical availability you offer others all come out of the same account, and an empty account cannot be generous. Being well is part of being useful.

If you feel guilty about the time care takes, count what it makes possible instead. Ask who benefits when you sleep enough, and let that be the reason if the personal one feels insufficient. Then protect the hour without apologizing for it.