Tips for Staying Healthy While Traveling for Work: Sleep, Scheduling, and More

Job stress can take a toll on your health even if your only travel requirement is the commute from your home to your office. When you add moderate to extensive travel onto your professional plate, you may find yourself struggling to stick to a healthy daily routine. Thankfully, if you frequently live like a nomad for business reasons, there are some techniques to help you remain physically and mentally strong. In the following post from Articleinon, we’ll take a look at six tips to keep you healthy during your travels.

Get Enough Sleep

When you suffer from sleep deprivation, you’re less effective at work, and you’re at greater risk of contracting an illness. It can be hard to get adequate rest while traveling, especially if you have early-morning or late-night departure times, cross time zones and find it difficult to sleep on airplanes or in hotel beds. A few techniques to make sure you get enough sleep include:

• Packing your own pillow
• Sticking to your nighttime routine
• Taking a melatonin sleep aid supplement

Drink Enough Water

Whether you travel by land, air or sea, you can quickly dehydrate. Drinking extensive amounts of coffee or sugary soda only makes it worse, so it’s essential to be deliberate in your water consumption. Depending on your level of activity and the doctor’s recommendation, you should try to avoid dehydration by taking in 8-16 cups of pure, filtered water each day throughout your business trip.

Stick to a Schedule

Sticking to a schedule is important when it comes to staying healthy while traveling. For example, maintaining the same sleep and meal patterns helps ensure that your body does not struggle too hard to adjust to a different time zone. A schedule maker can also be helpful in organizing and managing your travel, as it makes it easier to break down tasks into manageable chunks, thus preventing you from becoming overwhelmed or overworked. Additionally, creating an itinerary using a schedule maker allows you to maximize the amount of time you have at each destination by ensuring that all your planned activities are well-timed and within reach. By using a schedule maker, you can keep yourself healthy while enjoying a fulfilling travel experience.

Take a Daily Probiotic

Managing your gut health is key to staying well while on the road. According to research, the microorganisms in your digestive system are key players in brain, hormone and immune function. Altering your eating and sleeping habits while traveling can lead to stomach upset, irregularity and constipation. Taking strong probiotics can help keep your body functioning regularly while protecting your intestinal tract from harmful bacteria that enters the body via food and water.

Keep Your Hands Clean

When you visit new places, you come into contact with new germs and pathogens that your immune system has not previously encountered. Therefore, to protect yourself from sickness during your trip, you should take extra care to wash your hands frequently. This is especially important if you’ll be shaking lots of hands and using public facilities.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Travel offers opportunities to try new cuisines and local delicacies, but if you’re not deliberate with your meal choices, you can derail your diet and shock your gut. You don’t want to spend your whole trip feeling bloated and sluggish, or worse, in and out of the bathroom during evenings out with clients. To avoid discomfort, inflammation and unwanted weight gain, you should avoid the drive-through lines, and spend time searching for healthier dining options.

Find a Way To Work Out

When you leave your home and routine behind, you may feel a bit like you’re on vacation. You might be tempted to indulge in food and drink, sleep in and skip your morning run. You should take time to enjoy yourself, but there’s no reason to derail your fitness goals because you’re traveling. A few ways to keep in shape while you’re away include:

• Choosing accommodations with a fitness center
• Swimming laps in the hotel pool
• Walking to and from business meetings
• Visiting a public outdoor gym park
• Going for a hike, or taking a bike tour

Conclusion

Climbing the career ladder is important, but your health is paramount to having a happy and fulfilled future. With these tips and a bit of self-discipline, you can fortify your body and mind whenever you must travel for work.