Healthy travel tips | My friend and I were discussing her upcoming trip to Paris, and two of her biggest concerns as an infrequent traveller were – 1. What if I fall sick? 2. What if I get mugged?
The latter is a whole other conversation, but let’s talk about how not to fall sick, and in fact stay healthy while traveling abroad. Before we get into the nitty gritties let me just point out that it’s a very real concern for frequent travellers as well, but they have developed their tricks over the years through trial and error, and this article will save you the trouble of shooting in the dark, and risk falling sick.
Your tickets are booked, your passport has a shiny new travel cover with your name on it, and you have your outfits decided by day, activity, and venue. The excitement is palpable, and what you are likely to do in this excitement is forget two important things – sleeping enough and drinking enough water. This may not seem like groundbreaking advice, but it is. We tend to forget our basics when overwhelmed by a new experience, and our immunity pays the price. Besides, people tend to forget to check the visa requirements of the country they’re visiting, which may cause problems; for example, if you want to get your Cambodia tourist Visa online, you have to double-check every requirement before booking your ticket.
Carry a water bottle with you at all times, and make sure you get 8 hours of sleep no matter how packed your itinerary is.
The next thing that impacts our immunity is what we eat. My friend could not stop talking about the croissants and the macaroons and the cheeses that she would eat in Paris. While her enthusiasm is not surprising at all, I mean who wouldn’t be excited about the yumminess that Paris has to offer, you’ll note that her plan includes very little fibre, and food with essential nutritional value. This is another mistake we all make, we don’t eat a balanced diet. Just because you are travelling doesn’t mean your stomach can suddenly digest anything and everything you eat. Remember to eat fruits, and vegetables (especially leafy greens) – each culture incorporates them in their meals so you will be eating authentic cuisines while taking care of your diet. Here’s another situation that comes up often when we are traveling – you are tired or jet lagged, you wake up late in the morning, and your itinerary is packed, so to make sure you don’t miss anything you skip breakfast. Don’t skip breakfast! Now more than ever it’s the most important meal that will power you through a busy, thrilling day.
Now that the basics have been taken care of, something that attacks your health silently is anxiety. Contrary to popular belief we are not always ‘chill’ on vacations. Expectations, schedules, budgeting, dealing with a new environment can all lead to stress. It’s important to manage stress and anxiety. Not only will you not enjoy your vacation, you will also compromise your health. Maintain a journal to make sense of everything you are seeing and feeling. Meditate when you think things are too overwhelming. And, remember sometimes a walk in a new neighbourhood will teach you more about a place than a day full of touristy activities.
To recap,
Take enough water
Remember to sleep 8 hours
Important to eat a balanced diet
Practice stress-less traveling
Healthy travel tips – I hope that acronym helps you remember these tips every time you think or talk about your vacation.
Now, there are some other things that we may forget to do while traveling.
- Make sure you carry your essential medicines. Not only do you need them, it also helps avoid the anxiety of going through a new country’s healthcare system. For the same reason, carry a basic first aid.
- Do your research to check if you need to be vaccinated before traveling to your destination.
- If you are allergic to something, learn or make note of phrases in the local language so that you can ask restaurants to prepare meals without them.
- Apply lots and lots of sunscreen.
- Enjoy your alcohol, but responsibly.
- Carry a travel soap with you – it’s important you wash your hands often, and absolutely necessary before every meal.
- Carry health boosting snacks like dry fruits and trail mixes
- Carry a mosquito and insect repellant
- Don’t spend too much time in direct sunlight. Carry a hat!
- Practice some refreshing yoga poses in the morning or whenever you get time.
You are all set to travel healthy, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Just in case you fall sick, it’s important you have travel insurance, and remember to visit a doctor, instead of self medicating.
My last piece of advice to my friend was this – understand and respect your body. It’s important to know what your limits are and plan your trip accordingly. It would be unfair to plan an arduous trek if your lifestyle is completely sedentary, and expect your body to cooperate. In such a case, I would recommend yoga retreats in Nepal that only enhances your current lifestyle, but also teaches valuable and impeccable lessons for the future. My friend claims this is the most important advice, but I’ll let you decide. Have a wonderful trip, stay healthy, and don’t forget to have fun.
