8 Tips To Stay Healthy During Your Holiday Travels
Thanksgiving may have already come and gone, but there are still a whole host of holidays to look forward to. For many of us, these festivities include some amount of traveling. For some, that may mean driving across state lines to reconnect with family and friends. Others may be planning to fly somewhere warm and tropical for a much-needed vacation.
Among all the excitement that these plans may bring, it wouldn’t be surprising if you are also wondering how to keep yourself healthy during your trip. After all, planning for holiday travel does come with a lot of stress, not to mention extra exposure to germs and a deviation from your normal healthy routine.
So what can you do to keep yourself healthy as you set out to your holiday destination? We have a few ideas for you. But first, let’s take a closer look at how traveling during the holidays can impact your health.
Holiday Travel and Your Health
The holidays in general seem designed to test your body’s natural defenses. Between colder, and sometimes extreme, weather conditions and an abundance of sweet holiday treats, many of us have to work harder to maintain our healthy habits and routines during the holiday season.
Traveling during this time of year just adds another layer of complexity to it all. The stress alone of having to organize and execute travel plans can leave you feeling mentally and physically run down before you get a chance to start the festivities. Add to that all the extra germs you’ll be exposed to in public places like gas stations and airports and it’s no wonder holiday travel leaves so many of us feeling under the weather.
Tips for Staying While Traveling for the Holidays
With so much working against your health as you travel for the holidays, it goes without saying that you’ll need to give your body a little extra support during this time of year. Lucky for you, we have a few tips to help you do just that.
1. Stock Up on Water
The average adult needs about 3 liters of water a day. While you may easily fit that into your normal routine, making sure you stay hydrated while traveling can be challenging. If you are driving, there is always the possibility of running out of water while on the road with nowhere to stop for a refill. Of course, flying comes with its own challenges since you are unable to take a full water bottle with you. In this case, you may have to pack extra water for your road trip, purchase your own bottles of water on your way to your gate, ask for water refills regularly during your flight, or make it a point to hydrate during your layovers.
2. Choose Healthy Road Trip Snacks
For many of us, bags of chips, a candy bar, and a few cans of soda are staples for long road trips, but if you are dedicated to keeping yourself healthy this holiday season, you may want to skip them this time around. These foods are typically high in salt, sugar, or unhealthy fats, which means they can leave you feeling uncomfortable and lethargic at the end of your trip.
Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to skip the snacks completely. There are a variety of healthy alternatives available including fat-free and low-sodium options. Additionally, opt to trade in those fizzy, sugar-filled drinks for healthier options like smoothies, sparkling water, or coconut water.
3. Take Care of Your Skin
Whether you are traveling to a cooler climate or taking a trip to a tropical paradise, skincare is a non-negotiable part of a healthy travel plan. This includes making sure you pack travel-size bottles of your usual cleanser and moisturizer and use them while you are away. You’ll also want to make sure you are using sunscreen whenever you spend time outside to protect your skin from harmful UV rays. Healthy skin will translate to a much healthier and easier holiday. After all, who wants to worry about getting a breakout or sunburn while traveling?
4. Stay Active and Festive
There are a multitude of holiday activities that are also great ways to get everyone in the family on their feet and moving their bodies. For example, you could take your family ice skating, sledding, or caroling. If everyone would rather stay inside and watch Christmas movies, you can still get your exercise in by offering to walk the dog, take the kids outside to play, or jog to the store to pick up veggies to enjoy with dinner.
5. Pace Yourself
Holiday burnout is a serious issue that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves. It all stems from the desire to fit too many activities into limited time slots, and it can happen whether you are traveling to see family or are taking a tropical vacation. As with any other trip, it can be tempting to try to fit in as many family activities or as much sightseeing as possible. But constantly jumping from one activity to the next can quickly wear you down.
The solution is to prioritize. Pick one or two activities each day that are most important to you and cross those off the list first. Then check in with yourself to see if you feel up to doing something else. This way, you will get to enjoy your holiday festivities while still having some time for some much-deserved relaxation.
6. Keep Your Hands Clean
There’s no doubt that spending time in public spaces exposes your body to a variety of germs. Whether you are stopping at a restaurant for lunch or placing your carry-on in the overhead bin, traveling most certainly requires you to touch many different contaminated surfaces. The best way to protect yourself from these germs is to do what you can to keep them from getting inside where your immune system will have to fight them off. Creating habits like washing your hands as frequently as possible and not touching your face are two of the best ways to protect yourself during your holiday travels.
It also helps to have a bottle of hand sanitizer with you for a quick clean if you don’t have access to a sink or a bathroom while on your journey.
7. Take Time to Stretch Your Legs
Whether you are driving, taking a train, or flying, there is no doubt that those long hours of sitting can take a toll on your wellbeing. To combat this, especially on really long trips, finding ways to get up and move around is essential.
If you are on a plane or train, take a walk up and down the aisle every hour or so to keep your blood flowing. If you are driving, make as many stops as you can afford for a chance to get out of the car and walk around a bit.
8. Take an Immune-Boosting Supplement
A strong immune system will make all the difference when it comes to staying healthy during your holiday travels and festivities. Immune-boosting supplements are an effective and convenient way to give your immune system the support it needs to keep you feeling your best while traveling. In fact, these supplements usually contain more concentrated amounts of all the micronutrients your immune system needs to function at its best, all packed into a bottle that will easily fit in your carry-on.
Turn To Defend For Healthy Holiday Travels
The key to a healthy holiday season is finding small ways to keep your body, and most importantly your immune system, as active and nourished as possible, especially if your plans include traveling. Thankfully, Defend from New Earth is here to help with all your immune-supporting needs.
Defend is made from a proprietary blend of highly researched medicinal mushrooms. These mushrooms are combined with immune-boosting foods like beta-glucan and the near-perfect superfood known as organic Wild Microalgae® to create an all-natural supplement that gives your immune system the support it needs.*
The best part is that you can put it to the test risk-free with our 90-day moneyback guarantee.
At New Earth we are on a mission to positively impact the health of every body and soul we come in contact with. We specialize in producing third-party certified, organic whole food supplements including a variety of probiotics, and digestive support. Our supplements feature a rare, yet highly, nutritious superfood, Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (AFA). Also known as organic Wild Microalgae®, AFA is a unique type of blue-green algae that is available in many forms including algae tablets, algae pills, and algae powders all designed to help you on your journey to holistic wellness. The best part? We offer a 90-day money-back risk-free guarantee on all of our products. Visit our website to learn more.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
