When you are traveling during the winter, the last thing you want to be worried about is catching a cold – or worse, the flu! It can be extremely hard to stay healthy when you are sharing the same air with hundreds of other travelers. We’ve pulled together guidelines to good health while traveling during the winter. It’s not a surefire way to avoid illness, but it’s a great place to start!
1. Wash Your Hands
Simple right? You’d think so, but actually many people don’t do this right, or at all. The CDC has outlined how to properly wash your hands to avoid germs, you may be surprised at the technique. Using antibacterial gel or lotion is another great option, but should not substitute washing your hands. Sometimes using antibacterial gels to much can do more harm than help. When you are traveling, clean hands are important because they touch everything.
2. Exercise Often
When you’re traveling? Yes! Studies have shown time and time again that exercise can help to increase the effectiveness of your immune system. You don’t have to hit up the hotel gym to make an effort to exercise. This could be as simple as scheduling a biking tour into your plans, walk to your dinner reservations instead of take a cab or walk the beach with your honey during sunset. On a business trip? Check out the hotel swimming pool and do a few extra laps before grabbing your morning coffee from the buffet!
3. Don’t Stress Out
This will have the exact opposite effect of all that exercise you did! You can do this a myriad of ways. Here at InsureMyTrip we recommend staying worry-free by investing in travel insurance, but that may only take you so far. Try to start your winter travel plans early. This can help you organize your plans as well as save money! It’s a win, win.
4. Water! Drink It!
In order to avoid illness, you’ll want to stay hydrated. Water is an amazing, pure liquid that can flush out the toxins from your system to give it a nice reboot. Not only that, it’s has a lot of other benefits too. It’s a great way to maintain weight when traveling (instead of packing on those unwanted pounds from the alcohol and treats) and it can help you stay alert during your trip. Staying on your toes can help avoid a lot of stress.
5. Pack the Right Clothes
Be sure to check out the weather at the location to which you are traveling. If you are escaping the cold this winter, good for you! Make sure you have enough clothes in case you hit some mid-season rain storms. If you are staying where it’s chilly, bring clothes to bundle up and stay warm.
