can be an exciting and enriching experience that offers opportunities to explore new cultures, cuisines and landscapes. However, the rigours of travel, whether for business or leisure, can take a toll on your health and well-being.

Long flights, changes in time zones and the stress of navigating unfamiliar environments can disrupt your sleep, diet and overall equilibrium. For this reason, to ensure you arrive at your destination feeling rested and rejuvenated, it pays to take precautions to protect your overall health.

In this post, we will outline practical tips for prioritising your health while moving. Some topics we will cover include preparing for travel, healthy practices during transit and post-journey recovery.

There is a lot of information to take in, but we hope you will find it beneficial.
The Importance of Prioritising Health During Travel

As fun as the thought of travelling can be, the actual act of transiting can be challenging and disruptive and also take a toll on your physical and mental well-being. Therefore, it is important for you to recognise the significance of maintaining your health while on the road and take steps to do so.

Aside from the immediate benefits of feeling energised and alert, focusing on your health by making conscious choices and adopting proactive habits can protect you from susceptibility to illnesses and other common travel-related issues like fatigue and jet lag.

In turn, this should pay dividends by enabling you to maintain a good level of health that will allow you to enjoy enriched adventures and experiences during your travels.

Preparing for Travel

One of the best ways to prepare for travel is to ensure you are well-rested and hydrated before your departure. Subsequently, you should aim for at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep in the nights leading up to your journey and drink 2 litres of water per day if you are a woman or 2.5 litres if you are a male.

Doing this will help fortify your immune system, improve cognitive function and provide you with a solid base to tackle any challenges you might face when travelling.

During your transit, aeroplane cabins, trains and buses can be dehydrating. So, you should take plenty of water or hydrolytes with you for your trip. At the same time, avoid consuming too much caffeine and alcohol, which can both contribute to dehydration.

To provide you with extra bursts of energy, it would also be a good idea to take nutritious food options with you such as fruits, nuts and granola bars.

Healthy Practices During Travel

Any time you travel you are essentially disrupting your normal routine. As a result, it is important to maintain healthy practices to ensure you don't suffer any ill-effects from doing so. Thankfully, there are several tactics you can adopt to reduce the chances of this happening, including eating the right foods, moving your body and ensuring you get good quality sleep.

It is all too easy to chow down on processed or convenience foods when you travel, especially at airports or train stations. However, eating it is important to eat the right foods as it provides your body with the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it needs to remain at an optimal level of performance. Instead of having a greasy burger or fried chicken, look for healthier choices like fresh salads, lean proteins and whole grains which have a lot more nutritional value.

Those crossing multiple time zones are in for a long journey. So, to prevent the risk of stiffness and discomfort that might arise from sitting for extended periods, it is important to stretch, walk around and do gentle exercises like ankle circles and seated leg lifts to keep your blood circulating.

Jet lag is also a significant challenge when you arrive at your destination. So, a good tactic to reduce the effects of it during your transit is to sleep as much as you can.

Sleep Strategies for Travel

Going away on holiday involves sleeping in a bed you are not used to. Unfortunately, this can be a bit of a lottery and if you are unlucky, you might find yourself trying to get some shut eye on an uncomfortable mattress in a room which lets in lots of light and noise.

Taking your own pillowcase with you and using earplugs and an eye mask to minimise disturbances as you lay down at night, will give you the best chance of getting eight hours of slumber. Maintaining the same sleep schedule as you do at home, is also advisable, as it can help regulate your body's internal clock.

For many travellers who suffer from sleep disorders like sleep apnea, the thought of sleeping on your travels can cause plenty of stress.

To reduce this, bringing a device like a travel cpap machine with you, should go a long way towards helping you and them get a comfortable and uninterrupted night's sleep.

Managing Stress and Mental Well-being

For all the positive thoughts of sightseeing and ticking off destinations from your bucket list, travelling can actually be a stressful experience - especially the act of getting to your destination.

It is important to remain focused and calm and embrace the experience as part of the adventure, which is why it's important to have effective strategies in place to manage any stress it might cause you. The likes of mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation are all techniques that you can practise to remain in a relaxed state.

For many people who go abroad, particularly those who go solo, feeling isolated and homesick is a common complaint that causes them to feel anxious, stressed and even want to go home. To prevent this from affecting you in a strong way, sharing your experiences with family and friends through video calls or messaging apps can help alleviate your feelings of loneliness.

Post-Travel Recovery

After a tiring journey overseas, it's vital to prioritise self-care and give your body some time to adjust to the rigours of crossing multiple time zones. Therefore, you should make sure you get enough rest and eat nutritious food before commencing your regular routine.

This downtime will help your body and mind heal from the physical and mental toll of travelling and make the transition back to your 'real life' all the more smoother.
Conclusion

The last thing you want is to have your holiday ruined by ill-health or indeed come back home sick. Therefore, it pays to prioritise sleep, nutrition, physical activity and your mental well-being.

At the end of the day, taking a holistic approach such as this will go a long way towards countering the negative effects of travel, leaving you to dwell on the wonderful memories you will no doubt make.