Tips to Stay Healthy While Traveling

Whether you’re on a busy business trip or a peaceful vacation, it’s easy to overindulge on heavy meals and not exercise. Traveling doesn’t have to mean sabotaging your otherwise healthy lifestyle, though. You can still enjoy a new culture, including local food, without losing focus on your health.

Following these simple travel tips will allow you to Stay Healthy While Traveling. You’ll feel better during your time away and once you get back to reality.

1. Plan a Fit Trip

The hotel gym is always a good way to stay active while traveling. Make it a habit to visit the hotel gym when traveling. Go one step further and plan an adventure getaway that includes activities like hiking or rock climbing, or go on a running or biking tour. Join a program such as Class Pass to drop into exercise classes at local studios in your destination.

If you’re going on a cruise, don’t fall into the stereotype of overindulgence. One cruise travel tip includes signing up for pre-planned exercise classes to Stay Healthy While Traveling. Opt for active on-shore excursions like dogsledding in Alaska or volcano hiking in the Caribbean. If you plan and pay for these active options ahead of time, you’re more likely to stick to them and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

2. Hydrate

Always travel with a reusable water bottle that you can fill up at the airport terminal or anywhere else along your journey. Avoiding dehydration is a major flying tip to keep in mind.  It seriously affects air travelers and can result in heightened jet lag as well as a weakened immune system during the entire trip. Remember to drink plenty of water on your flight, especially if you’re enjoying the salty airline snacks. Try to steer clear of alcoholic beverages in the air as well since they dehydrate you even more. While that glass of wine might help put you to sleep, it also inhibits your body from entering REM sleep. When you wake up, you’ll still be tired and, most likely, extra hungry.

3. Sleep

It’s especially important to catch up on sleep and readjust your sleep schedule if you’re flying across time zones. Combat this by taking a natural sleep aid such as melatonin to promote restful sleep on flights traveling internationally or west to east. When traveling east to west, be sure to go to bed early, even if you’re tempted to stay up with the locals. Most people need one day per time zone passed to recover from jet lag. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and spicy or heavy food close to bedtime. Fast Asleep lozenges or other products containing tart cherry juice are a good source of natural melatonin.

Sleep deprivation can trick your body into thinking that you’re hungry, when really you’re just tired–making it even more important to sleep on your flight in order to start your trip on the right foot. Be sure to get 7-8 hours of sleep per night as well.  These travel tips for sleeping will certainly keep your mind and body on a healthy path during your journey.

Here are our final 2 tips to Stay Healthy While Traveling

4. Skip the excuses

While action-filled vacations and busy business trips can be hectic, they shouldn’t be an excuse to not take care of yourself. Maintaining a healthy eating habit is a major travel tip.  A healthy breakfast to start your workday or vacation is crucial for your enjoyment.  Don’t give in to fast food options out of perceived convenience for any meals. You can find healthy food in a hurry as well. Business trips often mean indulgent work dinners—try to opt for a healthy option you’d normally choose at home. Suggest business lunches rather than dinner, as they tend to be lighter and alcohol-free. If you have to go to dinner, seafood or salads are good, healthy options.

A major travel tip is to do some research on your airline in terms of inflight foods.  Take a look at this article for the airline with the healthiest food. Also, a best practice while traveling is trying to eat before heading to the airport in order to avoid heavy or unhealthy airport food. If you do need to eat, choose a sit down meal over fast food or take the time to find a healthy snack. Avoid salty plane food when you can. You’ll have more time to sleep in-flight and you’ll feel better overall once you land.

5. Take the Long Way

A long walk is always a great idea, no matter where you are. Taking the time for a morning walk is especially important, though, if you’re visiting a place that is spread out, forcing you to drive everywhere.

Try to always walk over taking a cab when possible to get in extra exercise and remain active. This also typically allows you to see more of a new place. Be sure to ask your hotel concierge or a trusted local which areas are safe to walk in. Walk around the airport before boarding your flight too. You should log at least 10,000 steps per day—keep track with a FitBit or smartphone app and enjoy your travel even more as you keep yourself healthy.

Did you find this article helpful? You may also enjoy these articles from Smarter Travel:

•     The Worst Decisions You Can Make on a Cruise

•     7 Risky Foods to Avoid While Traveling

•     The 10 Most Fattening Foods in the World

Shannon McMahon, SmarterTravel.com | December 16, 2015