Do you love to travel?
You’re not alone! Recent U.S. National Travel and Tourism Office reports have indicated that Americans are traveling more today than they have in years past. In 2016 alone, more than 80 million Americans took a trip with many of them traveling to places like Europe, South America, and Asia.
Traveling can obviously be a lot of fun. But do you know what’s not fun? Dealing with an illness when you’re a long way from home.
It’s why you should learn about how to stay healthy while traveling before you take your next trip. It could very well prevent you from feeling under the weather when you’re sightseeing in another country.
Here are 9 useful tips that will help you stay healthy while you travel.
1. See a Doctor Before You Begin Traveling
If you’re going to be traveling outside of the country or if you’re going to be traveling around for an extended period of time, you should schedule a doctor’s appointment first.
There are certain vaccinations that your doctor might recommend to you based on where you’re going to be traveling. Your doctor might also let you know about a health condition that you’ll want to keep a close eye on as you travel.
Getting access to medical care in other countries can be tricky in some instances. So it’s best to play it safe and go through a health evaluation before you set sail or take flight.
There are health insurance and Medigap plans that will cover the costs of seeing a doctor and help you get a clean bill of health prior to the start of your travel schedule.
2. Prepare Your Body For Traveling
Staying healthy while traveling starts long before you leave your house. In the days leading up to your next trip, you should take the time to prepare your body for your travels.
It’s not necessarily going to be easy to do it when you have a million and one things going on, but you should try to get plenty of sleep. You should also eat lots of healthy foods and, maybe most importantly, stay hydrated.
Additionally, you should try to keep your stress levels down. By doing all this, you’ll give your immune system a boost and prepare it for what’s to come.
3. Book Your Travel Plans Wisely
In an effort to save a few bucks, many people will book flights at odd hours of the day and agree to long layovers on their way to their final destination.
If you can avoid doing this, you should do it at all costs. It’ll throw your sleep schedule off and confuse your body. It’ll also get your trip off to a stressful start as you scramble around to catch flights while trying to stave off the boredom that often comes along with layovers.
You want to try to make your travels go as smoothly as possible. It’ll put you in a much better position when you finally arrive at your destination.
4. Take Your Time While Exploring the City You’re Visiting
There are many travelers who do a poor job when it comes to pacing themselves on trips. They try to pack as much as they possibly can into their schedules and attempt to see entire cities in a single day.
Slow down! While you want to make the most of every trip you take, you shouldn’t do it at the expense of your health. If you do too much at once, you’re going to run yourself ragged and make it impossible for your body to keep up.
5. Eat a Well-Balanced Diet Each and Every Day
No matter how disciplined you are about eating healthy at home, it’s easy to give in to temptation and eat like crap when you’re traveling. It’s so much easier to grab fast food and go than it is to sit down and eat a well-balanced meal, especially when you’re in a hurry to see the next sight.
Try not to fall into this dangerous pattern. You should do your best to eat healthily and to incorporate as many fruits and vegetables into your diet as you can.
You should also make sure you’re eating all three meals each and every day. If you start skipping meals, you’re going to rob your body of the nutrients it needs.
6. Pack Vitamins in Your Travel Bag
Are you concerned about not getting enough nutrients every day?
If so, slip vitamins into your travel bag and get into the habit of taking them throughout your trip. They’ll provide you with many of the essential vitamins and minerals.
7. Drink Water Early and Often Throughout Your Travels
Staying hydrated is, as we mentioned earlier, something you should do in the days leading up to a trip. But you shouldn’t stop drinking water as soon as you leave home!
You should bring a water bottle along with you as you travel and drink from it early and often. You can never drink too much water when you travel as traveling has a way of dehydrating your body if you let it.
8. Find Ways to Workout Whenever Possible
There’s a good chance that you’re going to be walking around a lot when you travel. That alone will provide your body with plenty of exercise.
But you should also take things to the next level and workout whenever you can find the time to do it. Exercise has been shown to fight off everything from the common cold to more serious illnesses.
Even something as simple as a 20-minute jog on the beach can work wonders for your physical and mental health while you travel.
9. Sleep as Much as You Can as You Travel
We get it. You don’t want to spend your whole vacation sleeping and miss out on all that a new city has to offer!
But if you don’t sleep enough while you travel, you’re going to pay the price for it eventually. A lack of sleep can zap you of the energy you’ll need to walk around, and it’ll also weaken your immune system and leave you open to illness.
Sleep, sleep, and then sleep some more so that your body is well rested throughout your trip.
You’ll Be Glad You Learned How to Stay Healthy While Traveling
There’s nothing worse than getting stuck in bed with an illness when you want to be out exploring a new city.
Learn how to stay healthy while traveling before you take your next trip and you can avoid getting sick. You can also steer clear of getting sick when you return from your trip, which is another problem that many people face.
Now that you know how to stay healthy as you travel, would you like to learn more about planning a great outdoor adventure? Read our blog to find some tips that will help you out.