This is a collaborative post.

How To Get Healthy Before You Start Travelling 

Although it is important to remain healthy when travelling – falling ill overseas is never pleasant and can even be hugely problematic in terms of your insurance, as well as potentially ruining a great time away – the good work must begin before you go. When planning for your holiday, include some of the following suggestions on your to-do list since the healthier you are before you go, the more fun you’ll have while away, and the less chance you’ll have of becoming unwell. 

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Eat Healthily 

Before embarking on any kind of overseas trip, you should strengthen your immune system and check that it’s functioning correctly. The last thing you want to do is catch a bug on the plane or at the airport, or even on your last day of work, and get ill by the time you arrive. This could result in you losing out on a lot of exciting enjoyment.

Eating properly in the weeks leading up to your trip (and longer if possible; a healthy diet should always be something you strive for) entails eating meals rich in protein and fibre but low in carbs. You must be able to digest your meals correctly so that as much energy and nutrients as possible enters your body. You should also drink plenty of water; eight glasses (eight ounces each) each day is a healthy quantity.

Changing your diet to begin eating healthily all at once can be hard if it’s not something you usually do. This is why it might be best to take things slowly. As soon as you’ve booked your trip, start making small changes. Switch your unhealthy, sugary cereal breakfast (or lack of breakfast) to something better like a bran muffin, fruit smoothie, or yoghurt, for example. Once you’ve accomplished this, you can move on to lunch, and then dinner, and then ensure any snacks you eat are good ones. 

Exercise

Being active improves your circulation and lowers your weight, which are both beneficial whether you are travelling or not. Your blood pressure will be lower, and you will be better protected against a wide range of illnesses, including type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. Exercise helps your body become fit and healthy, allowing your cells to repair themselves more effectively.

Therefore, making sure you are as active as possible before going on holiday is a good idea. You’ll lose some weight, meaning that it’s easier and more comfortable for you to get around, and your immune system will be functioning at its very best. Not only that, but if you intend to do any kind of new and potentially strenuous activity while you’re away, your body will be better prepared for it. If you have a fairly sedentary life at home, suddenly being active and using muscles that don’t usually get used could be dangerous. Prepare your body in advance and ensure that you are ready to have the holiday you dreamed of, and not one spent in pain or, worse, in hospital. 

Quit Smoking

It’s a good idea to quit smoking before embarking on your holiday. Not only is it terrible for your health, but there are many places you might wish to visit where smoking is completely prohibited, such as tourist sites and restaurants, not to mention planes. 

You might think you can just leave things as they are and just manage when you are away and not smoke when you aren’t allowed to. However, this can be a problem in itself. If you find yourself in a place where you’re not allowed to smoke and you’re still a smoker addicted to cigarettes, the cravings will be bad ones. You’ll feel unwell, uncomfortable, and you won’t be able to enjoy yourself properly. Whether you’re unable to smoke for a whole long-haul flight or it’s just for the duration of a meal out with friends or loved ones, the feeling will be the same. 

It’s therefore much more preferable to quit smoking ahead of time and get over the cravings at home so that you can enjoy yourself more. For some people, quitting smoking is easy – they simply stop one day, and that’s it. For others, it will be much harder. Always have some kind of support and backup to help you, and ask for advice when you need it. In this way, you stand the best chance of success. On the upside, when you stop smoking, you’ll have a lot more money to spend on your holiday.

Sleep Well 

Sleeping for at least seven to eight hours each night is beneficial to your health; it will decrease stress, lower blood pressure, reduce the chances of obesity, and is beneficial to your heart. 

If you don’t get enough sleep, you can – and eventually will – get sick, and whatever jet lag you may have will be even more challenging to overcome; you could miss out on a lot because you aren’t getting enough sleep.

If you find you have trouble sleeping, it might be because of the room you’re in rather than anything physical or psychological. Make sure it is as dark as possible, even using blackout curtains if you can install them, and quiet too. It should also be the right temperature, as being too hot is just as bad as being too cold when you’re trying to sleep. Remember also to remove any screens from your bedroom. The blue light emitted from laptops, TVs, and mobile phones can cause problems with the body’s circadian rhythm, meaning that your brain doesn’t know when it’s time to send our tiredness signals. On top of this, having your phone by your bed can be a distraction, keeping you up much longer than you should be. 

De-Stress

Many people go on holiday to de-stress, but if you can start the process before you go, you’ll be more likely to return home feeling refreshed and re-energised. Because your mind and body are inextricably connected, when you are worried, your body will suffer as a result. Stress can cause symptoms such as headaches, high blood pressure, disorientation, and heart problems. Stress can, in fact, kill if nothing is done about it. 

Your holiday is the ideal time to reduce your stress levels if you’re feeling burned out or exhausted or generally upset about the state of things, but if you get yourself more stressed in the lead up to your departure, you’ll find it harder than it would otherwise have been to de-stress when you arrive, and you’ll have days when you should be relaxed and having fun feeling uptight and miserable instead. 

Begin by organising your schedule well ahead of time so you know exactly when you need to leave the house to catch your plane. Book your parking or a taxi to get you where you need to be, and ensure you have all your documentation, such as tickets, passport, and visas if required. Don’t let these important things cause you more stress; there are experts who can help you, and you can check out the service provided by official-esta.co.uk to see what we mean. 

Another way you can de-stress ahead of your trip is to look at your work schedule and start to decrease the amount of work you need to do in the days leading up to your departure. If you can do this, even if it means a few longer days in the weeks before you go, then you’ll know that everything is complete and that you don’t have to worry about it all while you’re away. 

As a tip, when you are on holiday, don’t check your work emails no matter how tempted you might be. Doing this will only cause you stress because you will either have to do something about whatever the emails say and thus cut short your holiday, or you’ll be unable to do anything, so you’ll just feel more stressed without any resolution. Enjoy the moment, and leave your emails and social media at home.