Hands up who has a summer holiday booked? You lucky things! Ah, don’t you just love this time of year? According to the National Office of Statistics, there were 70.8 million visits overseas by UK residents in 2016, which was 8% more than in 2015- and even more holidays are predicted for this year. We Brits love to get away for a couple of weeks in the summer, and who can blame us! Unfortunately though, thanks to something that experts are calling ‘leisure sickness’, many of us tend to fall ill during those precious two weeks- thus defeating the object of a nice relaxing break! So we thought we’d help you out here a little. Here are three little tips for health travel this summer- because we want you to enjoy yourselves, let your hair down, and come home in one piece!
Travelling is tough
Travelling can be really tough on the body! Okay so the idea of sitting back on a plane with a good book doesn’t really sound that taxing, but there are reasons why it can really take its toll on the body without you realising. For one, the atmosphere in planes is a lot drier than we’re used to, travelling also often requires a significantly smaller amount of sleep than we’re used to, and often we’re forced to eat less than clean food while we’re at it too. All things combined and travelling can be bad for your health if you let it!
This summer though, we’d like to help you to combat the usual stresses and strains of travelling so that you can be at your peak during your holiday. Read on to find out our top three ways to do it..
Value your sleep
Time in the air is time to sleep, especially if you’ve had an early start. If your body is sleep deprived its less able to fight your corner when it comes to bugs and germs; not to mention the emotional effects lack of sleep can have. Add that to slower reactions, poor food choices and the irritability that comes with lack of sleep, and you have a holiday disaster waiting to happen! So get some sleep while you can, and value it above all else while you travel.
Invest in some good quality earplugs and a good eye mask to help you relax and fall asleep more easily. And if you get a chance to meditate too then please do. You won’t regret it.
Stay hydrated
We really cannot stress this enough and we will tell you again and again – drink lots of water! Not only that but make sure you have a rose water face mist to hand for when the cabin air starts to dry your skin out. A saline spray is also a good idea for when you’re flying too – the dryness of the air when you’re in a plane is often the number one reason why people fall ill on holiday. Because the air is so dry, the membranes in the nose dry out too, and this means that it isn’t able to filter out bacteria as it normally would. So all the germs floating around up there are yours for the taking! Use a saline spray to combat this.
Keep your hands clean
It sounds so simple, but its one that we tend to forget the most easily when we’re travelling. We can pick up so many germs through the course of one flight, but we can keep on top of it. Take an all natural hand sanitiser with you if you can, or have a go at making this one yourself (note that if you’re travelling by air you may not be able to take this onto the plane). All you need is:
- One travel sized spray bottle
- Sterile water (fill the bottle three quarters of a way up)
- One teaspoon of aloe vera gel
- Three drops of cinnamon, clove, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils.
- Ten drops of either lemon, orange or grapefruit essential oil
Add all ingredients together into the bottle and use and and when required.
And finally, we hope you stay healthy and have a lovely relaxing holiday! x
