Tips to Stay Healthy While Travelling

Travel can be incredibly restorative. A vacation is a chance to rest, relax, and reset. New experiences can be inspiring and motivating. But travel can also be physically and mentally demanding, especially if you’re not travelling for pleasure. Even on vacation, long days in transit, time changes, unhealthy food, and physically demanding adventures can all take a toll.

Whether you’re preparing for a late summer get-away, fall work travel, or just getting back in the swing of things post-vacation, here are some tips to stay healthy when travelling.

Plan Ahead

Ease the potential stress of travel by planning in advance. This may include booking accommodation, passing off work projects before you go, and researching restaurants and activities. This doesn’t mean you have to eliminate all spontaneity but having some reservations and research to fall back on can prevent unnecessary headaches.

Beat Jetlag

There are countless tips out there on how to limit the effects of jetlag but many are just old wives tales. Jetlag is caused by a disruption in your normal daily rhythm when in a different time zone. The best advice is to start well rested, limit alcohol during travel, stay hydrated, and get on your new schedule right away. A short power nap might help but make sure to sleep at the local nighttime in your destination to reset your body clock.

Drink Lots of Water

Staying hydrated is important, particularly if you’re flying. Airplanes are notoriously dry, with humidity averaging 30% lower than ideal. Coupled with low cabin air pressure, dehydration is very common, leading to dry skin, headaches, and fatigue. Bring a reusable water bottle and some electrolytes, limit alcohol, and aim for 8oz of water for each hour in flight. Depending on where you’re travelling, make sure to check the water quality and purchase bottled water if necessary.

Pack Healthy Snacks

Vacation often means heavy meals out, dessert, take-out, and drinking more alcohol, sweet drinks or coffee than usual. Make sure you have healthy snacks on hand; think fruit, protein or granola bars, and yogurt to help keep you energized and mitigate the effects of a greasier-than-usual diet.

Take Care Post-trip

Give yourself a few days to get back into your regular routine. Even if you’ve just had a week on the beach, it’s not uncommon to suffer from post-vacation fatigue. If you can avoid it, don’t schedule important meetings or appointments in the first few days back. Gradually ease into the swing of things by unpacking, tackling the laundry, and restocking the fridge with healthy food. If you find yourself dreading getting back to work, take a few moments to look at photos from your recent trip or daydream about your next adventure.

Make Sure You're Covered with Travel Insurance

Travel insurance means you can enjoy your trip without worries of unexpected healthcare costs or cancellations. Health Plus PRIORITY and OPTIMUM plans include 60 days of emergency health coverage per trip. If you’re interested in extended travel coverage such as trip cancellation, interruption or lost baggage, get in touch for a quote or fill in the form below. 

Happy Travelling from the Health Plus Team!