This is a sponsored post.
While for some of us, lockdown has meant exercising less and eating and drinking more, others have used the time to improve our personal health and wellbeing by eating a better diet and working out more at home.
Now, as we prepare to embark upon our return to the office, ditch masks (well, provided you’re not in Wales, where masks aren’t set to be ditched just yet) and jet off on our long-awaited holidays, it’s important we don’t lose sight of our newfound healthy habits.
Since the pandemic is still ongoing, it’s may also be essential for you to get a London PCR test for travelling before and after your trip. That way, you can be confident that you won’t be at risk of infecting others.
While we might be travelling away from home a lot more than we’ve been able to do so recently, we should still be aiming to ensure we keep our health in tip-top condition too. With this in mind, I thought it’d be useful to share some of my top tips for staying healthy while travelling.
Here are my recommendations on how to look after your health while on the road. Can you think of any other tips I could add to this? If so, jot down a comment in the box below and I may even add your contribution to this list!
5 tips for staying healthy while travelling
Carry essential medication
When it comes to staying healthy while travelling, the most important tip I could possibly give you – besides taking out appropriate health cover – would be to carry any regular medication with you. Don’t just pack it into your hold luggage, where it could get lost during transit – carry it on your person, ideally packed into your carry-on bag. While this should go without saying, many people accidentally leave their meds at home before heading off on holiday.
Likewise, you’ll also need to bring enough medication to last for the duration of your journey. If you’ll be travelling on a long-term basis, speak to your GP to arrange a prescription to cover you while you’re out of the country. If you need to obtain medication in a hurry and you’re not able to arrange a last-minute GP appointment, an easy and affordable way to get hold of the meds you need is to use an online chemist like Oxford Online Pharmacy. Usually, online pharmacies stock an impressive range of medications and next-day delivery is often the norm.
Dependent on where you’ll be travelling to, you may also wish to carry a copy of your prescription with you. This is especially important if you’ll be travelling with any needles or sharps.
Stay hydrated
Our bodies are two-thirds water and we should all aim to stay hydrated – not only while we’re travelling, but when we’re at home too. In reality though, most of us don’t drink anywhere near enough water.
Every day, we lose water through urination, sweating and breathing. Sure-fire signs of dehydration can include darkened urine, headaches and a feeling of thirst. If we’re travelling to a country with a hot climate, we’ll lose even more water than we would do normally, so we’ll need to drink more in order to stay hydrated.
To help you to remember to drink water, it pays to carry a reusable water bottle with you that you can keep refilling while travelling. You could even download a water-tracking app to help you keep count of how much water you’ve consumed each day. Many people also like to place a glass of water next to their bed, so they can drink it upon waking in the morning. Similarly, others swear by drinking a pint of water before going to bed, especially after an evening of heavy drinking.
Exercise daily
While hitting the gym is probably the last thing on our minds while travelling for leisure, it often pays to fit in a daily workout while travelling.
You don’t have to do anything too laborious or challenging; exercise can take many forms, including light activities woven into your daily plans. From a stroll along the local beach or a swim in the sea, to a round of tennis in the resort ball courts or a quick game of mini golf with the kids, keeping fit while travelling doesn’t have to be tedious. Just remember to pack any necessary sports wear or equipment, like Tennis Shoes or walking boots. Once you’ve found an activity you can enjoy doing while on holiday, you can keep fit while travelling, and have fun in the process!
Many active travellers won’t leave home without a reliable exercise resistance bands set as, not only are they incredibly versatile for use in different forms of exercise, but they’re also fairly compact and easy to transport.
Wear sunscreen
Protecting our skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays is a must at all times, even in mild climates like that of the UK.
It goes without saying then, that if you’ll be visiting a destination that’s known for sunshine and warmer climes, you’ll really need to slap on the sunscreen. When choosing your sunscreen, check the SPF rating on the label. If you have fair skin, you should be looking to buy a minimum of SPF 30, although you might wish to go up to SPF 50 if you’re particularly fair or if you’ll be travelling to a country that’s known to be intensely hot or sunny.
If you’re not keen on using greasy lotions, opt for a spray sunscreen instead. Often, this can make it much easier to target all those hard-to-reach areas.
Eat a balanced diet
While no one should have to stick to a strict diet while enjoying themselves on holiday, it still pays to eat a balanced diet where possible while travelling.
Try to stick to regular mealtimes and although it might be tempting to chose the most appealing, calorific options listed on the menu, aim to eat relatively healthy most of the time and allow yourself a few treats every now and then. Additionally, be wary of eating unfamiliar new foods while travelling if you have any food allergies or sensitivities.
This way, you won’t feel like you need to move in to the gym as soon as you arrive home from the airport! Plus, if you eat well, you’ll probably find that you’ll have more energy for exploring the local area while you’re away too – and that’s got to be a good thing!
Can you think of any other ways to stay healthy while travelling? Share your thoughts in the comment box below to let me know.
This is a sponsored post.