How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
Traveling is the equivalent of newness, freedom and a whole lot of peacefulness, so treating yourself is not only expected, but also recommended. But treating yourself and overdoing it are two very different concepts. When appointments and schedules are no longer an issue, food is abundant, and your gym’s no longer just around the corner, all motivation that drives up your organized routine seems to fly out the window.
Luckily, hotels and travel companies have been making health and wellness a priority, providing fitness amenities that range from in-room balance balls to DNA-specific nutrition plans.
Bottom line is staying healthy while traveling has never been easier, so we’ve put together a 5 easy steps plan to help you reap all of the body-boosting benefits of your next traveling experience:
- Hydrate
Keeping your levels of hydration optimal is key to surviving any new environment – when you fly, your skin dehydrates heavily, your body feels more fatigued, and your brain finds it harder to focus. Reach out for pure water, coconut water or fresh lemonade, and load up on as many watery foods such as cucumber and watermelon.
If you’re heading to the beach, your water intake should increase especially if you’re also consuming alcohol. A major downside to a thirsty body is food cravings – more often than not we tend to confuse hunger with thirst. Next time you feel the snack urge setting in, try drinking a big glass of water, and see if goes away.
- Eat Well
This part is the most challenging as when holiday mood sets in, our minds tend to go into a state of bliss and overlook any aspect tied to routine, nourishment included. Also, depending on your accommodation style, cooking might not come in handy. Still, there are a few things that can make it a bit easier:
- Pack ahead and bring snacks like macadamia nuts, almonds, berries, olives, or dark chocolate.
- Eat a big meal if you have a long travel day ahead so you won’t be tempted to reach out for unhealthy snacks.
- Airplane food is generally loaded with sodium and saturated fats that can cause bloating. Instead, bring your own food on board, or buy a salad from an airport cafe.
- If you do end up eating something that makes you sick, take a few probiotic supplements or eat probiotic yogurt that will help your digestive system cope.
- Stay active
Travelling more often than not involves long periods of sitting, thus staying active, although difficult, is absolutely necessary. Exercise as much as you can to stimulate your immune system, release endorphins, and keep your brain sharp. Here are a few ways to keep your physical activity going while traveling:
- When browsing for hotel options, choose one with a good fitness center and go for a short treadmill workout in the morning. You’ll see a noticeable physical and also mental boost throughout the day that will help your body cope with jet lag (when necessary) or fatigue.
- Wandering streets is not only the best way to discover a city, but also a super efficient workout.
- Give your muscle some stimulation by practicing one of the many time-saving and highly efficient “Hotel Room Workouts” you can easily find online such as this one or this one.
- Meditate
Whether you’re traveling for business or vacation, stress still finds way of creeping up on you. Meditation is a powerful stress reliever that sharpens your mind, and increases your awareness.
Whether you’re on a plane, on the beach, or in your hotel room, allocate 10 to 20 minutes to meditation, and improvements will be noticeable in no time – you’ll find a new appreciation for your surroundings, the people you’re with, and all around rid yourself of all frustrations.
If you don’t have 20 minutes to spare, try these quick meditating methods:
- Focus on your breath for 30 seconds, and breath in deeply – you can do this throughout the day, whenever you can or feel you need it
- Close your eyes, put your headphones on and listen to your favorite song
- Listen to audiobooks or podcasts (meditation oriented, or any other kind you might prefer).
Top meditation and mindfulness podcasts:
- Tara Brach, by Tara Brach
- Hay House Meditations
- Against the Stream, by Noah Levine & other teachers
- Inspirational Living
- Meditation Minis, by Chel Hamilton
- Daily Meditation Podcast
- Life on Purpose, by Gregory Berg
- Stick to Your Routine
Now that you’ve got eating well and staying active covered, you should know skin care, vitamin intake, or any medical regimens should in no way be overlooked. If you take regular vitamins or medications, pack them in a travel container for ease of access and to save space.
Keeping up with your routines won’t add any unnecessary restrictions to your trip. On the contrary, including and caring for all these aspects will allow you to feel your best while traveling and make your vacation all the more enjoyable.
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