Here are the top 6 pre-flight wellness tips you need for healthier travel.
Easily integrate these healthy travel tips the day before and the day of your flight to help you to travel better.
6 travel tips to create healthier travel habits:
Drink extra water
Limit or remove alcohol from your diet
Pack ahead
Check in 24 hours before your flight, choose your seat
Charge all your devices
Schedule in time to move
Travel wellness is a journey, not a sprint. It takes time to master routines and build healthy habits. Habits form due to repetition. You must repeat the same small actions over and over again and it is only then that you will start to see results. It would be a lot easier to build healthy habits to improve your day to day work routine because you can apply the habits every day. For example, you can get off the bus one stop earlier every morning, you can go for a ten minute walk every lunch time, you can pack a healthy lunch every day. Habits build over time but the more we do them the faster and easier they become a part of our lives.
Building and maintaining healthy travel habits is a bit trickier. Even for frequent travelers the process of going to the airport is not an everyday occurrence and so we have less chances to put the healthy habits into practice. It takes real effort to maintain a healthy travel routine and it is something we at Sanctifly strive to help all our members achieve. Having a set of simple, easy to follow travel tips is the best way to win against bad travel habits. The key word here being ‘EASY’. Waking up two hours before your morning flight to fit in a yoga class or prepacking meals to cover you for a 12 hour flight is just not always feasible. So, here are 6 easy pre-flight healthy travel tips you can incorporate every time you travel.
Travel tip #1 - Drink extra water
Did you know that approx. 60% of the human body is made up of water? Dehydration is a huge problem for frequent travelers. The air on an airplane is less humid and much drier than most of us are used to and can cause dehydration as body fluids are depleted as you breathe. Skin evaporation can also cause irritation and itching which can be severely uncomfortable (source: https://www.infoplease.com/math-science/weather/effects-of-dry-air-on-the-body).
By hydrating the day before your flight you can prepare your body to deal with this. Drink plenty of water in the 24 hours before your flight and always carry a refillable water bottle with you. You can also pack hydrating snacks to help keep your hydration levels up while traveling. Check out this post on the best hydrating and filling snacks to pack for your next trip.
Travel tip #2 – Limit or remove alcohol from your diet
We are not going to sit here and list off all the negative impacts of alcohol, we all know it has a stressing effect on our bodies and our minds. But travel is also stressful, and we should prep ourselves as best we can by providing healthy fuel for our bodies. Alcohol is often a go to airport activity because of a huge problem with travel; boredom. As we wait for our flight to board grabbing a drink at the bar seems like a much better option than just sitting around doing nothing. As frequent travelers, we need to find better ways to deal with boredom that don’t involve going to the bar.
Avoid alcohol before a flight if you can, however if you do want to have a drink in the 24 hours before a flight here are some tips to help your body recover faster. 1) Only drink with food. 2)Do not use sugary mixers and avoid alcohol with high sugar content such as white wine. 3) Follow up your drink with a large glass of water.
Travel tip #3 - Pack ahead and include some healthy snacks
Food is always something you need to consider while traveling. Even if you have a super short flight, between traveling to the airport and waiting to board, there is a good chance you are going to get hungry. And we’ve all experienced boredom eating! It is very common to turn to food and drink during airport downtime just to break up the monotony. The real problem lies in the fact that healthy food options are not very common at the airport, especially if you are getting a late night or early morning flight. To avoid the temptation of bad food & alcohol always pack some healthy snacks to bring in your carry on. Granola bars, nuts and fruit such as bananas and apples are great options to throw in your bag and don’t require any prep time. And, as a bonus, these are all TSA approved so there will be no trouble getting through security.
Travel tip #4 – Check in 24 hours before your flight
This is an easy tip to add to your pre-flight check list. See if you can grab an upgrade or if you can choose your seat by checking in 24 hours before you fly. The window seat might seem like the most desirable location because you can look out and you will not be disturbed by your neighbors bathroom breaks, however the aisle seat is a much better option, especially for long haul flights. You get a little more room to stretch your legs when sitting in the aisle which can be beneficial to avoid leg cramps. You can also get up to stretch properly and even go for a short walk without disturbing anyone. At Sanctifly we are big champions of taking the time to move your body and stretch while traveling. Sitting still for long periods is not good for your body or mind and sitting in an aisle seat offers more opportunities to move than the middle or window seat.
Travel tip #5 - Charge all your devices
Especially important for business travelers and another easy thing to add to your pre-flight preparation check list is to charge all your devices the night before your flight. As important as it is to unplug and take some time away from screens, there is no way to avoid sending that email or taking that call when traveling for work. And as we move further from away from paper tickets and towards electronics, knowing that your phone battery is not going to go dead right before you have to scan your boarding pass is a huge stress reliever. Travel stress has a hugely negative effect on our mental health and any little thing that can be done to relieve it is certainly worth it. Stick a portable external charger in your carry on so you never have to worry about running out of charge or finding a seat near an outlet again.
Travel tip #6 - Schedule in time to move your body on the day of the flight.
As we have already mentioned we are big champions of moving your body while traveling here at Sanctifly. Check out this easy, 12 step, no equipment workout routine that you can do next time you are at the airport. We all have downtime at the airport so why not fill it with some physical activity? Working out and moving your body is also great before late night flights as exercise helps to clear your mind and helps you sleep.
Helping our members create and stick to healthy travel habits is what we do. By helping people change the way they think about travel downtime, we are helping our members stay fit and healthy while on the road. Instead of heading to the bar, do a workout. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through your phone, follow a guided meditation. Instead of sitting around for hours on your layover, why not head to the spa? Because frequent travel is not unhealthy, it’s our travel habits that are unhealthy and these need to change. You can download the Sanctifly app and browse through thousands of wellness options at over 130 international airports. Ever single option on the Sanctifly app is specifically chosen to help frequent travelers make the most of their travel downtime and do something good for their physical and mental health.
Take the time to incorporate these 6 pre-flight travel wellness tips the next time you are traveling and start changing your travel habits today.
Sanctifly is the global provider of wellness options and activities in and around airports. Get exclusive access to airport hotel gyms, pools and spas without booking a room, plus access to hundreds of airport lounges with showers. Get your membership today for as little as $99. Visit https://www.sanctifly.club/membership-types to get your membership today.
