Now, more than ever, you might wonder how to stay healthy while traveling. By following these easy travel wellness tips, that’s how. We’re sharing some of the best ways for staying healthy on your vacation so you can fully enjoy your time away, and when you return.
CONTENTS – In this article, you will learn some important tips so how to stay healthy while traveling , including:
- Tips to Stay Healthy While Traveling
- Exercise While Traveling
- Wash Your Hands & Travel Hygiene
- Take Care of Your Diet
- The Value of Meditating
- Get Enough Rest and Sleep
- Final Thoughts on How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
How To Stay Healthy – Tips
Are you one of those individuals who travel a lot for business or pleasure? Do you also have difficulty eating a healthy diet and maintaining a balanced lifestyle while traveling?
If you answered yes, you are not alone. Many people who travel or even spend only a short time away from home struggle to maintain healthy habits when they travel.
It can be tricky to successfully maintain a good lifestyle when you’re on vacation or traveling for work. Plus, you’ll want to make sure you don’t get sick.
Fortunately, there are easy solutions. You may have to be a little more disciplined and get organized, but you can do this, as long as you prepare for it.
In this article, discover some practical and easy-to-apply tips to help you maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle so you’re your healthiest, even when you travel and are away from home!
The Importance of Exercise
It is not necessarily easy to stay active when traveling, especially since travling by car, plane, or train usually involves spending a long time sitting. Of course, you’ll want to take breaks to stretch your legs and body occasionally.
However, it is absolutely essential to maintain periods of exercise in your daily routine. Indeed, physical activity stimulates the immune system. It also releases endorphins and keeps your brain alert.
That’s why it’s a great idea to walk as much as possible at your destination(s). Whenever you can, avoid taking a taxi or public transportation and walk instead.
The good news is, if you’re someone who loves to explore a city on foot, you may be getting in all the steps you need. If you’re smartphone doesn’t already track of how many steps you’re getting in each day, you can get a fitbit or download an app that will tell you how far you’ve go each day.
In addition to walking, you might also include heart-healthy activities that you’d naturally do on vacation, like:
- Biking
- Swimming
- Paddleboarding
- Walking on the Beach
Cycling is also a great way to go around a new city. It allows you to visit tourist spots and, at the same time, helps you burn calories while you’re on tour. If you want to take cycling exercise seriously, add a bike power meter to track your progress.
If you’re not getting as much activity as you’d like, work in a quick run or go to the hotel gym or local gym. Most hotels, especially those booked for business trips, will have a fitness center that’s free to use.
Then, head to the gym in the morning before your breakfast, or in the evening before going out for dinner. Even if you can only devote 20 minutes to the treadmill, it will make all the difference in your well-being..
And if you can perform strength training exercises, they will stimulate your muscles to counteract any sedentary time while you travel.
Wash Your Hands & Other Hygiene Practices
When traveling in winter (and, as we overcome the pandemic), one of the essential challenges is to protect yourself from viruses and germs lying around. You don’t want to catch a cold, the flu, or worse.
This can be especially tricky when flying, since it is an enclosed environment in which anyone who coughs and sneezes might infect others.
This risk has become more apparent during the pandemic. Of course, one way to help protect yourself is by wearing a mask – even if you’re vaccinated.
In addition, you’ll want to have handy or packed in your carry-on:
- Masks
- Hand Sanitizer
- Disinfecting Wipes
- Gloves
Also, be aware of the surfaces you’re touching throughout your travels. For instance, try not to push elevator buttons with your finger, and then mindlessly touch your face. (I recommend always using your knuckle to press elevator buttons, anyway.)
Unless you are unsteady on your feet, try to avoid touching high-traffic areas, like railings, doorknobs, handles, faucets, and toilet handles. If you must, use a tissue, napkin, or wipe to come in contact with these areas to minimize germs.
Another one of the best ways to protect yourself is to wash your hands frequently and carry soap-free hand gel or sanitizing lotion with you at all times.
It can make a real difference to your resistance to germs.
Take Care of Your Diet
Eating well when traveling is rarely easy, especially when you stay in hotels and have little time to cook for yourself. It’s not that there is a shortage of good food when you travel – more that it can be tricky to make healthy choices when there are delicious, tempting options.
However, here are a few tips that can make your job easier:
- Bring Snacks Along: Take an airtight box with you, including healthy snacks such as beef jerky, macadamia nuts, berries, fresh fruit, olives and dark chocolate while you travel; stock up at a local store when your stock runs low.
- Eat a Substantial Meal Before Departure: Make sure you eat well before your departure. For example, eat a breakfast full of good proteins when you leave in the morning. This will prevent you from falling for fast food at the airport.
- Don’t Be Afraid to Fast: If no healthy option is available, skipping a meal can be beneficial. Our ancesters practices holistic fasting during the Paleolithic era, and travel times are a good time to try it out.
- Plan Ahead: Try to choose hotels that have at least a kitchenette, which will allow you to prepare your tea and small snacks, if not full meals. You can also consider choosing your hotel based on its menu or nearby restaurants. Look at Downtown Restaurants and make a good choice for the best and healthiest food available.
- Balance Out Your Choices: If you plan on having a big pasta dish for dinner, make sure to incorporate some fresh salad greens, fruits, or eat light during the day. That way, you can enjoy splurging for dinner and you won’t be so full that you won’t enjoy it. Plus, you want to ensure that you are getting a balanced combination of vitamins and nutrients while you’re away, even if you do want to indulge in the regional cuisine and best desserts.
- Stay Hydrated: Water is an important dietary lubricant, and it’s easy to get dehydrated when you travel. Airplane cabins and air-conditioned hotels are notoriously dry. Add to the mix a vacationing destination that arid or hot, and you’re bound to get parched. So, make sure you pack a water bottle and get your fluids in so you maintain optimum nutrition.
Related Post: How to Keep your Skin Hydrated in Arid Destinations.
The Value of Meditating for Mental Health
Meditation is a great way to:
- Reduce stress
- Sharpen your mind
- Increase your awareness
So why not take advantage of the time spent in transport to meditate and relax? Don’t forget, your mental health is just as important as other health aspects.
If the airport or current surroundings are too distracting to your ability to get into a peaceful mood, make some time to practice yoga by the beach, or do some early morning meditations in the quiet sanctuary of your hotel room.
The positive effects of a of peaceful meditation can stay with you for the whole day while you travel.
Even if you don’t meditate, make sure you find some quiet time to yourself so you can gather your thoughts and have some uninterrupted moments of calm.
Related Article: Why Travel is Important for Your Mental Health
Get Enough Rest and Sleep
Just as physical activity is essential when traveling, getting enough sleep and allowing yourself time to rest is essential.
Traveling is inherently a stressful activity. It can be difficult to take time for yourself and your self-care while you’re juggling connecting flights, ambitious itineraries, and other travel plans.
One rule of thumb is not to over-schedule your itinerary with back-to-back activities. Try to build in free time to your day and even block off entire days without any agenda if you can. That way, you can enjoy some impromptu experiences or just take a slower pace.
These moments thus become real breaks in your day.
When it comes to sleep, the goal is to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep every night, which is also the recommended ideal when you are at home.
This may almost be an impossibility when you’re on the road, since your adrenaline might be running high, and you’re in unfamiliar surroundings. So, to help, you can bring lavender oil, sleep mask, sleep aids, camomile tea, and stay hydrated. You might even want to bring a white noise machine or download a sleep app to help settle your brain.
Final Thoughts on How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
While how to stay healthy while traveling may not be the first thing on your mind while you’re planning your business trip or traveling world adventures. However, after what we’ve been through, it should rank high on your list. With these easy tips, it’ll be a breeze.
If you check this dentist out in Shrewsbury, they’ll also advise you to visit your doctors a few days before your vacation. Doing so will ensure that you won’t have any health issues as much as possible while traveling.
Click here to read important tips about traveling with chronic illness.
Photo credits: feature – Toa Heftiba (Unsplash); others courtesy of Canva Pro.