If you travel often for work, especially to international destinations, you know it’s easy to become tired and sick. The fact is, staying healthy while on the road (or in the air) isn’t just about arriving home without a case of sniffles. It is also about reducing travel stress, following good habits, and remaining alert.
While this can be challenging, there are more than a few tools at your disposal to help, such as apps, essential oils from D Gary Young, and more. Keep reading for some tips to ensure you stay healthy while traveling for business.
Start Your Day with a Healthy Breakfast
While it may sound cliché, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a healthy, balanced meal in the morning will replenish the glycogen stores (a.k.a., energy) in your body. It also helps to recalibrate your blood sugar levels.
The early morning meal will help prepare you for an entire day of decision-making, flights, and meetings. Some hotels offer free breakfast, but if this isn’t an option, just try to start your day with something healthy like dried fruit, a whole-grain granola bar, or almonds.
Use Apps to Help Reduce Stress
Most people view stress as temporary. However, ongoing cases of stress can cause both short- and long-term health issues ranging from gastrointestinal issues and heart disease to diabetes and headaches.
Just the act of traveling can cause stress. So can the anxiety of an upcoming business trip. While it is a good idea to prioritize additional rest leading up to traveling and to outline your goals, you may also want to consider a stress-relieving or meditation app. There are several available, and these may help you reduce some of the stress and anxiety you feel.
Drink Plenty of Water from Sealed Bottled Water
If you are traveling abroad for business, you have to sacrifice the modern luxuries you have taken for granted at home, including filtered, safe tap water. It’s not a good idea to drink from the tap in around 187 countries due to issues related to gastrointestinal discomfort or contamination concerns. If you find yourself in one of these countries, your safest bet is sealed bottled water.
It’s worth remembering that if you want to avoid drinking the local water, you should also order your drinks with no ice. Ice may contain locally sourced water, which can cause diarrhea or other issues. If pre-packaged bottled water isn’t available, then make sure to have water purification tabs on hand. These will ensure the water you are drinking is safe, just make sure to follow the included instructions.
Take Along Disinfectant Wipes and Hand Sanitizer
Many people don’t realize that the trays they use on an airplane carry a lot of germs. Unfortunately, many people aren’t prepared to deal with this. However, if you want to avoid catching a common cold, you should take along travel-size disinfectant wipes to wipe down your tray table and armrests. It’s also smart to add vitamin C boosts to your routines to help give your immune system a boost. After arriving at your destination, be sure to apply hand sanitizer when entering and leaving a location.
Avoid Certain Foods and Drinks
A business trip is a perfect chance to experience something new and try the local fare. However, if you eat undercooked, left-out, unwashed, or mishandled food, it may become full of dangerous bacteria, such as salmonella. When you are traveling, some foods you should skip include raw foods, buffets, alcoholic beverages, pre-packaged items, unpasteurized dairy, and food sold by street vendors.
Staying Healthy While You Travel
If you want to stay healthy while you travel, be sure to keep the tips and information found here in mind. While there are other steps you can take, these are a good starting point, no matter where you plan to go or visit. Being informed is the best way to protect your health.
