Safe, Healthy, and Stress Free Travel

When it comes to traveling and being on the road, staying healthy isn't always a priority. However, that doesn't mean it shouldn't be important. Whether you are traveling for business or traveling for vacation, here are a few tips for staying healthy:

Traveling out of the Country?

• It is good practice to see your doctor at least 6 weeks prior to your traveling time to make sure you are up-to-date on your vaccinations.
• Ask your doctor if there are any safety precautions that you should be aware of before you leave. For example, a person dealing with heart failure might need to take shorter flights with more stops to prevent sitting for long periods of time. Others might need to take certain medications to prevent contracting an infectious disease.
• You can use the Internet for general health information for places you will be visiting to see if there are any outbreaks of diseases: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has this helpful website resource, www.cdc.gov/travel.
• If you are taking a cruise you can find your ship’s sanitation inspection scores, www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp.
• WebMD recommends finding out where you can get the best medical care in the region you are visiting. The U.S. State Department's website, www.usembassy.gov, lists every U.S. embassy worldwide and lists some doctors and medical facilities in those countries. Find out if your insurance company will cover you. You may need special travel health insurance.

Stress While Traveling

• Traveling can be stressful, so here are a few tips to keep your stress in check:
• If traveling by air, arrive early before your flight and be sure to check departure times. For domestic flights, it’s recommended to arrive 1 ½ hours early and for international flights, plan to arrive at least 2 hours early.
• Pack security smart. Use a TSA approved lock so your suitcase can be opened as needed without risking damage.
• Dress for security. Remove all metals and stow in your carry-on baggage so you can spend less time in screening.
• Get plenty of rest before traveling, and limit alcohol and caffeine while traveling to help with adjusting to a new time zone.
• Having a patient, happy attitude can also make a difference with keeping stress levels down. Try smiling at those around you to help ease any tension. 

Today’s Preparation Determines Tomorrow’s Achievement

 Last minute Summer excursions and Fall break planning is underway.  If you’re finding it hard to keep your healthy routines going while you’re away, don’t fear! Orriant has tips to help keep you on track, so you feel great when wearing that bathing suit on vacation.

You’ve probably heard the notion, “If you fail to prepare, you’ve prepared to fail!” This can be applied to your getaways. As you’re packing and getting everything in place to leave town, take some time to map out what you can do to make the trip a healthy experience for you and others involved. Set a few health-related goals for the trip so you’ll feel energized while you’re away and not fall into a slump that’s hard to climb out of when you return home.

A few goals to consider could be: do you want to lose a couple pounds during the trip

or will it be a success if you can maintain your weight? How many days can you involve activity: every day, every other day? What will you do when it comes to eating out: share meals to have smaller portions, skip desserts, or drink water instead of a high calorie beverage? If you leave with a plan, it will be easier to stay committed and make healthy choices during the venture. To keep your exercise going, scope out activities that involve fitness. If you’ll be taking kids along, plan to visit a theme park, zoo, water park, national park, or beach. Can you bring along your bikes, or is the area you’re visiting or traveling through famous for hiking trails? Maybe there’s a hobby locals love that you can try: surfing, paddle boarding, or golfing. If you’re staying at a hotel, can you find one that offers a gym or swimming pool? If you’re visiting family, maybe they have a gym membership where you can purchase a daily or weekly guest pass. Remember the last time you had guests visit you? Did it interfere with your workout time? Don’t do the same to them! Get fit together!

If you know the trip’s events are going to interfere with any spare time for leisure activities, perhaps you can pack resistance bands or weights to use for 30 minutes before your day gets going. You could even prepare to do your favorite workout video. Just don’t forget to pack your sneakers.