If you’ve been following my How Stay Healthy While Traveling the World series, by now you should know traveling can be AMAZING but can also be exhausting and potentially threatening your health. The first two articles in the series covered important things to do before your trip and essential oils you should have in your first aid kit.
Here are 6 habits you should engage in to stay well and enjoy your trip:
1. Stretch Daily
Most of the time when you travel you walk for extended periods of time to explore your destination. Every morning before you start your adventure, give yourself at least 5-10 minutes to stretch your arms, legs, neck, shoulders, and back. As someone who’s been battling neck pain over the last few years, I can say that your body will PRAISE you for doing this. You will feel rejuvenated. Also, while you’re waiting for food, the bathroom, transportation, etc., sneak in easy neck and shoulder stretches. I also treat myself to stretching right before I go to bed because it soothes my muscles and helps me rest better.
Here’s a video of a simple stretching routine you can follow:
2. Get Enough Sleep
Getting enough sleep during my travels has been my saving grace! It’s one of the most important things you can do to stay healthy while traveling. As you can imagine, your body needs a break from carrying luggage to and from destinations and walking all day. You should listen to your body to determine how much rest you need; however, 7-9 hours is the recommended amount of sleep. I usually always have planned nap time while I’m traveling.
3. Stay Hydrated
Prior to arriving at your destination, make sure to check that your drinking supply is safe. Staying hydrated is the key to not spending your trip dehydrated or sick. Aim to drink 1-2 cups of water when you wake up and before you go to bed. While carrying a reusable water bottle with a filtration system around is ideal, it can also be burdensome. Potassium-rich foods and drinks like bananas and coconut water hydrate you and keep the fluids in your body. Add chia seeds to your water or food. They are hydrophilic, meaning they prolong hydration and retain electrolytes. Also, avoid your sugary drink intake. All of the above will help you walk longer without having the need to drink water every few minutes.
4. Be Mindful of Your Food
Fresh produce box in a local grocery store in Milan cost only 4 Euro (4.34 USD) !
I get it, you are on vacation, you want to indulge! While this may be fine for a few days, if you take longer trips (anything over a week) I guarantee you will feel the effects of your diet. Aim to commit to at least one healthy meal a day. This can easily be done through home-cooked meals made with produce from local markets and grocery stores. Some of my favorite travel memories have been shopping in local grocery stores, it’s an excellent way to get a feel for your destination and save money. If you stay in hotels without a kitchen, ask the staff for plates and utensils. Sandwiches and salads are simple to make without a kitchen.
If you are visiting a developing country where food or water-borne illness is rampant, you’ll want to reconsider eating raw fruits and vegetables. You should instead eat dishes with cooked vegetables and make sure it is served hot.
5. Protect your Skin
Screen Protection Essentials!
Sunscreen
In order to prevent sunburn, early skin aging, and cancer, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends everyone use sunscreen that provides the following:- Broad-spectrum protection (protects against UVA and UVB rays)
- Sun Protection Factor (SPF) 30 or higher
- Water resistance
Mosquito Repellant
If you’re traveling to an area with a lot of mosquitoes and insects, make sure you wear insect repellent to prevent bites. When I visited Ghana, I treated my clothes with Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent and used Repel 30% DEET Mosquito Repellent Wipes daily.6. Sanitize
After touching germy hot spots like an ATM, security line bins, door handles, etc. make sure you use hand sanitizer with at least 50% alcohol. Be sure you sanitize ALL parts of your hands (including fingertips and any rings). If you aren’t able to clean right away, avoid touching your hands, nose, and mouth. Also, hand sanitizer targets bacteria, not viruses, it should never replace you actually hand washing with soap and water. It is also useful to have disinfecting wipes around to use when necessary (armrests, seat belts, tray tables, etc).There you have it, 6 habits of healthy travelers! Which of these habits do you practice? What would you add to this list? Let me know in the comments below!
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This Post Has 34 Comments
Great tips! I really need to work on the indulging part. I always feel like it takes me 2 weeks to get back to normal once I return from a trip, simply from the food I consume.
Thank you! I think we’ve all been at the place where we need a vacation from getting back from our vacation.
Really fantastic post! Getting enough sleep is soooooo important while traveling and I feel like many people – including myself – put that on the back burner because there are so many exciting things to do and see…and we end up being too exhausted on the last few days. Your essential oils post sounds really intriguing! Going to check it out too 🙂
Thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoy the essential oils post! I agree a lot of people have the "YOLO/ I’ll sleep when I’m dead" perspective, but it’s not sustainable.
We are getting ready to travel so these are great tips to remember and make sure we do everyday.
Glad this was useful! Happy travel planning!
Health cannot be rated highly enough and staying healthy on travels is sometimes a challenge. Thanks for sharing your recommendations and experiences.
I agree! You’re very welcome. Thanks for reading!
All of these are so necessary, I can’t decide which is more so! Hydrating, sleep and your food might be # 1 for me while on vaca.
Yea it’s hard to put one over the other because they are all so crucial. But those are great #1s.
The hand sanitiser is a good shout! Sometimes I’m struck by the horror of realising I’m touching something that is never washed (railings, door handles etc) Sleep is also a biggy for me! My body really struggles to function if I don’t get enough!
Seriously! I think most people don’t realize that most thing we touch are constantly touched by other people and rarely cleansed.
I find it sooo hard to stay healthy when travelling, so thank you for your tips! I feel like I’ve gained a lot of weight since I’ve been on the road so your article was a timely reminder to start taking better care of myself 🙂
I’m glad this was helpful for you :). And you got this! Start with small doable changes and then build yourself up to bigger changes.
Good tips! I really try to get enough sleep and to eat healthy while traveling. Especially last year I noticed that this is so important to keep going. Before I often didn’t get enough sleep because I was afraid I couldn’t do and see everything I wanted, now I take my time. So much better!
Thank you! I know it’s sooo hard when there’s so much to see in a limited amount of time. But I found my time is more enjoyable when I’m well rested.
The Sanitizer and the mosquito repellants are something I always tend to miss out on. I am going to try those mosquito repellant products that you have shared here!
Awesome! Those products worked really well for me when I was in Ghana. I hope they work well for you 🙂
These are such great points. While I’m all about treating myself a bit and splurging while traveling to try local foods, etc, I also know my body and if I want to FEEL my best so I can really enjoy my time each day, then I need to mostly maintain my healthy diet that I do while I’m home. It’s all about balance, after all.
Thanks Katie! Yes I agree with you! Everything is fine in moderation.
I could not agree more about staying hydrated. When we are on the go we can neglect this. Great tips!
Thank you! Awesome, I’m happy to hear you prioritize hydration 🙂
Oh my, I seem to find exercising and eating healthy the hardest thing to do while on the move. I become so lazy and always forget to buy healthy food or want to try every local food there is available. liked your great tips, I will try to follow them and travel with more mindfulness.
Ingrid
It definitely is difficult! But you got this Ingrid! Try small changes first, being mindful is a great start.
I really, really love your blog. And this post. I should probably print it out and force myself to carry it around on every backpacking trip I go on because I need to do all of these things. The staying hydrated tip in particular is SO HUGE! It’s so easy not to in countries where 1) you have to buy water 2) toilets are gross. Because then peeing frequently is The Worst. But still, too important not to do it!!
Thanks Kaisa!! Haha you know what you make really good points about having to use the toilets frequently in places where toilets are gross. But staying hydrating does outweigh that discomfort.
Good reminders! I also try to take a yoga and/or a dance class wherever I’m traveling (because its like a normal routine for me and the added benefit of additional exercise!).
That’s awesome! I took a yoga class while in Berlin and loved it!! I usually do some sort of physical activity while traveling.
Great tips! I always miss hydration and sleep. You reminded me to make sure I do on my next trip this month. Never thought about stretching, gonna try that as well. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading! And yes try stretching! You’ll see a difference.
I agree with ALL of these things. I never go anywhere without mosquito spray, and the stretching tip is key — especially on crazy long travel days!
Yes stretching is soo essential!!!
I definitely need to do better with the ‘mindful of your food’ part. I try to eat healthy but my will power fades! Good tip with the raw foods though – I don’t think I’d have thought of that! 🙂
Haha I know eating healthy on vacation is hard when there is so much yummy food around. But starting with at least one healthy meal a day would make a difference. 🙂