5 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy While Traveling

I work for a tech company in the travel industry, which requires global travel to places in South America, Europe, and Asia. Along with lots of mileage and travel points, I have also learned a thing or two about how to be my best self when I am traveling. I've compiled some helpful lessons learned that can maybe save you a head ache or two when you're discovering the world for yourself!

1. :: HABITS :: Think about some of your regular habits at home that make you feel calm, grounded, and like yourself. The finds ways to incorporate them as you travel. Just because I am away from home doesn’t mean I skip all the things that ground me in my everyday life. I bring all my supplements with me & usually include extras for the immune system, prioritize healthy movement, a gratitude journal, and water. Maybe its something in your coffee, a special tea, or essential oil. Whatever it is that grounds you, take it with you.
   

2. :: PROBIOTICS :: It's happened to almost everyone I know. You travel and all of sudden become backed up. Pooping is a critical body function! Probiotics can help out. It can also help you adjust to new food environments in different countries so you don't get tummy issues. If you already take them daily (which is encouraged), continue taking them while traveling. If probiotics are new to you, first, read this blog all about probiotics & second make sure to begin taking them a week or so prior to your travel as a slow incorporation.
   

3. :: MORNING RITUALS :: Try to set aside a certain amount of time each morning to practice some kind of ritual. For me, this looks like waking up and drinking 15-20 oz of water, preferably warm water (most hotels have tea kettle in the room) and with enough time to get my workout in. When traveling for business, you never know how long your day is and I can at least have my morning to myself so I don’t feel completely depleted after day 2. If you don't want to workout, try to do basic movements in the morning to get your blood flowing and/or taking 1-2 minutes to simply take slow inhales/exhales to center yourself.
   

4. :: HYDRATE :: Its so easy to forget about drinking enough water. ESPECIALLY in flight. You can bring a large water bottle to fill up once you are past security (note that at some airports in Asia & Europe you have to go through a second set of security at the gate that does not allow water). Every time I fly I will buy two of the largest bottles of water I can find to bring with me on board & try to drink both on my flight. This reeeeally helps with the bloat that can happen on long flights. When I am traveling in a new city I always have one of those large bottles with me in my bag. When you are site seeing you can get so caught up in everything to do and see, then all of a sudden its 3pm and you've maybe had 8oz of water, walked 10,000 steps, and are exhausted. The more hydrated you are the more energy you will have. I promise!
   

5. :: BLOOD FLOW :: On long flights you are sitting still for many hours which limits the blood flow in your body. A coworker of mine experienced a blood clot on an international flight. After that I always make sure to wear compression socks on a flight and I try to stand up and walk to the bathroom about every 3 hours. While in the bathroom I take a minute to roll my wrists and ankles, shake my legs & arms. I will also do butt squeezes. Whats that you say? Just like it sounds, clench your butt cheeks for a few seconds about 10 times, then do the same to my quads, core, and back muscles. This activates your muscles & gets blood flowing.

And here are some non-health, but maybe mental heal tips for traveling

:: IN FLIGHT BAG :: Beyond your carry on, create a smaller bag that can fit some of the essentials needed in flight. This helps to avoid digging in your bag in the dark. Depending on what you need you can also take only that little bag with you to your seat leaving your feet with lots-o-room! Some items I keep in mine: phone, charging chord, earbuds, earplugs, tissues, eye shade, hand lotion, and ginger tea for any nausea. On international flights I will include: any medications or supplements (melatonin, aspirin), neck pillow, travel sized mouth wash, warm socks, hydrating facial mist spray (airplane air makes your skin dry AF).

:: ENTERTAINMENT :: Prepare your entertainment prior to getting on board. This is a game changer in long flights. I will usually pick a TV series and download enough hours to keep me entertained on a long flight. I will also load audiobooks and podcasts to listen to. The WiFi doesn’t always work and sometimes none of the movies are appealing are even worse, your screen doesn't work. Nothing makes a 12 hour flight feel tortuous like boredom.

:: LAYER UP :: The temp in planes can fluctuate big time. When you board, it can be quite warm & mid flight its freezing. Even worse is standing in line for customs with no A/C, hot weather, a big sweater, & your sweating like a pig as security is asking you all the questions. It's happened. I always wear layers, t-shirt, pull over, & hoodie with pockets to keep my phone, passport, and boarding pass.

:: TSA PRE-CHECK :: This is my life savor. If you travel often, get it. It is worth every penny. Even better, get Global Entry. However, this only works when coming back to the US, not going through customs/immigration for other countries.

:: LUGGAGE :: Spinner wheels makes airport life so much better. Just trust me here, its worth the money. Some airports require a ton of walking, and dragging a bag behind you is inefficient and after a while it can bother your wrist & shoulder. Plus you can put a small bag/purse on top of it so you don’t have to carry anything! Winning!

:: JET LAG HACKS:: Once you enter the plane, attempt to be on the time zone you are going. So, if its night time there, try to get some sleep in the plane. If its day light, try to stay awake. Don’t nap on your first day. If you get off the plane and its morning, try your hardest to keep moving until at least the late afternoon. Get some sunshine so your body realizes its day time and if possible, sit in a park, take your shoes off & walk in the grass. Sun & fresh air can do wonders! Sleeping pills, ear plugs, & an eye mask. I'm not an advocate for sleeping pills outside of traveling, but for jet lag, this is my essential. I use melatonin. Without this I could be tossing and turning for hours. The eye mask helps as there are always electronics with various blinking lights throughout the night & earplugs cause you never know what to expect, noise neighbors or even multiple nights a drum parades (yes, this has happened).

:: SHOES :: If you can walk miles in heels and feel great, props to you. I cannot. Wearing comfortable & easy to remove shoes is essential for your flight which may require lots of walking through terminals. I just bought a pair of FitFlops sneakers and I swear it was like waking on clouds. In London I walked 20,000+ steps a day and my feet did not hurt at the end of the day. Also note, in a long flights you could bloat a lot & wearing confining shoes may be painful getting off a 12+ hour flight.

:: CHECK LIST :: Create a generic check list of all the essentials you need when packing. You can then refer to this every time you travel and don't have to recreate it for each trip.

:: GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER FOR LANDING :: Schedule the hotel to pick you up, look at the train schedule, take screen shots of the address and a map. Don’t always rely on WiFi. I have been in countries where my phone doesn't work and in order to connect to WiFi at the airport you have to receive a text authentication, which doesn’t work if your phone isn't working. Be prepared. After little sleep and a long flight this is not what you want to be worrying about. Uber/Lyft are great but in foreign countries sometimes this is not available or can be confusing to book and find where you are supposed to meet your driver.

:: ONE FINAL NOTE :: This is just something that has help me a lot when coming off a long ass flight. Sweating. I try to book a hotel that has a sauna or book a massage with a sauna, and I sit in the sauna and just sweat it all out. This was a game changer for me when traveling if this is accessible.