How to Stay Healthy While Traveling

The rushed pace, lack of sleep, and increased exposure to germs while traveling are often a recipe for getting sick. With a few preventative measures, however, you can make sure you stay healthy in order to fully enjoy your vacation or ensure a productive business trip. Keep the following tips in mind:

Find a way to sleep. If you have trouble sleeping on planes or in noisy hotel rooms, you’re not alone. So take some extra measures to induce sleep. Try packing your own pillow, noise-cancelling ear plugs, herbal sleep inducers, like melatonin or valerian root (check with your doctor first, please!), and a good book, or download a meditation app, like Calm.

Watch your alcohol intake. Not only will it interfere with your sleep, it may also reduce your immune system, so drink responsibly. Keep in mind that drinking alcohol in the high-altitude environment of an airplane increases its effect and dehydrates you more rapidly.

Boost your immune system. With so many risks to your immune system lurking while on the road, up your vitamin C intake as a preventative measure. Stash some echinacea tea in your travel bag and end the day with a nice, hot immune-boosting cup.

Get some exercise. Speaking of boosting your immune system, exercise is a great way to do so. While it can be tough to stick to your regular fitness routine while traveling, even a little added exercise can do the trick. Hit the hotel gym, take a walking tour around the city you’re visiting or rent bikes instead of calling an Uber. Even a quick yoga or bodyweight session before leaving your hotel room will do the trick.

Sneak in some good food. Part of the fun of traveling is veering off your diet and indulging in the local specialties of the place you’re visiting, i.e., Chicago deep dish pizza, New Orleans beignets, Paris croissants...go for it! Just sneak in some healthy choices here and there to help stave off sickness. Have a smoothie for breakfast or a mid-afternoon snack, and pack it with fruits and veggies, and start that decadent dinner with a big, green salad. Pack some multivitamins for an extra level of insurance.