Many relieve the difficulties of stress at work and home with periodic vacations.
For some, however, the minute they see TSA at the airport, their stress level sky-rockets. When the plane lands, lifting their over-packed bag from the overhead bin they wrench their back. After a day touring they find the local water and beautiful fresh fruit they bought from the street stand did their dirty deed. They’ve got the “trots.” These are travel scenarios I’ve heard often.
Travel illness and stress can “kill” vacations. Here are some suggestions to travel healthy and stress-free.
• Learn about your destination. Many countries, while generally safe to visit, do have some health risks. A great place to start your research is the US State Department’s Country Specific Information. By learning about your destination, and taking appropriate action you can protect your health and reduce your anxiety about traveling.
• See a doctor before you travel. The CDC suggests the “best time to see the doctor is at least 4 to 6 weeks before your trip.” That will normally give you enough time to get the required immunizations.
Doctors can help you plan ahead for illnesses or injuries, by prescribing antibiotics, and medication to treat diarrhea, and other illnesses, for your trip, “just in case.” I follow the CDC guidelines, and take a “Travel Health Kit” with me. Take your prescriptions in their original, labeled containers to prevent problems with your destination’s customs and border enforcement officials.
• Consider travel medical insurance. This can be critical, and relieve the stress from worrying about how you’d pay for travel medical bills. In the US, many typical medical insurance plans and Medicare don’t cover costs of medical care outside the US. Others reimburse you, but only at a small percentage of your costs.
• Don’t eat airplane food. Pack your own meal. Airplane snacks are rarely more than sugar and junk carbs. Even full airline meals are rarely healthy or good quality. My wife and I take along sandwiches, fruit, salad, and crudités vegetables for our flights. We take packets of “mayo,” and salad dressing in our TSA “baggie.” We buy water at the airport, to ensure we have enough.
• Hydrate while flying to help prevent jet lag. Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol. Every doctor I speak with, about this tells me that in addition to the diuretic effect of these beverages, drinking them results in sleep disruption, deepening “jet lag,” and making your flight more stressful.
“Jet lag” is generally more of a problem traveling east. Regardless, the longer you fly, the worse it can be. In addition to the above, avoid heavy, fatty foods. Try getting into the light/darkness time cycle of your destination as quickly as possible.
• When you’re on a long flight, stretch and do some simple exercises. On a long flight, the immobility of passengers and low pressurization of the airplane will take their toll and increase passenger discomfort. I get up to stretch, at least once per hour. You can do shoulder and neck rolls, heel lifts and flexing. Try to walk around a bit too.
• Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothes. This will make you more comfortable, as the low pressurization of airplanes causes our bodies to swell.
• Relax while you travel and relieve your stress. Use noise canceling headphones to keep your music and movie audio low for safety and comfort. These headsets work well, dramatically reducing the sound of the engines.
• Don’t strain yourself schlepping a heavy suitcase. Use roller bags and don’t over-pack your carry-on. A wrenched back from getting carry-ons down from the overhead bin can ruin your vacation.
• Eat light. There’s nothing more uncomfortable than bloating, “gas” or an upset stomach during a vacation. Don’t let big, beautiful buffets on your cruise ship keep you in your cabin at a great port.
• Use the hotel, cruise ship, or local area gym. Cruises and bus tours are particularly sedentary. That’s not good for you. Exercise in the ship, hotel or local area fitness center (day pass) can keep you healthier and feeling better. I always travel with gym clothes.
• Walk, or use a bicycle. Many big cities are wonderfully walkable or bikeable. You’ll be able to see more, and stay healthier.
• Wash your hands with soap and water frequently. Practicing good hygiene can save you from days of travel illness which could ruin or end your trip.
• Especially in developing countries don’t drink the water, or even brush your teeth with it. You don’t know how safe the water supply is. Use bottled water. Don’t eat anything from street stands.
• Watch that sun. Cover up or wear sun screen with an SP15 rating or higher. Wear a hat with brim. A bad sunburn or serious sun fatigue can ruin a great vacation.
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Excellent list… thanks for the article! Then, after being careful to travel healthy, you can reap some of the health BENEFITS travelling as well: http://kevinvisser.com/469/8-health-benefits-of-travelling/
I’d also add that making sure your home is being watched by a trusted friend or relative can greatly lower your stress levels.
Since so many of your tips are related to the inherent (and continually increasing) stress of air travel, may I suggest an alternative? Choose a destination that does not require flying! That renders about half your suggestions moot, and probably eliminates more than half the stress. Use creativity to plan exciting vacations close to home. If you spend some very enjoyable time reading guidebooks and preparing, even a staycation in your home town can be an exciting but low-stress adventure.
The airline industry would like us to believe that vacations are synonymous with flying. And the stress level associated with TSA checkpoints is by design, since the TSA owes its very existence to fear and anxiety and has built them into its approach to “security.” There is almost nothing we can do about either the TSA or the increasing contempt airlines are showing their paying customers. The one thing we can do is to “just say no.” That isn’t always possible, but when planning a vacation (especially when the intent is to get away from stressful work) it’s at least worth considering options that avoid the stress that is now synonymous with air travel.
My husband takes Hapgood’s approach and does not fly…period. I, however, want to see the world before I am no longer able to do so. I fly and take what comes. I consider dealing with the airlines and TSA an adventure in and of itself. Since I usually do not have time constraints, I can take the delays. So far, I’ve been lucky and have rarely had to personally deal with arrogant employees.
This is a great list. Here’s are two more tips. Get plenty of sleep. Plus, finish trip preparations far enough ahead of time that you aren’t starting the trip in an exhausted state.
Hapgood, your suggestion has real merit. There are many great vacations that we can enjoy within driving distance from home, or use another mode of transportation. Quite a few vacationers I know have had wonderful vacations traveling by train, for example. Amtrak’s California Zephyr can give passengers a spectacular ride through the Rockies and Sierra Nevadas.
That being said, I think Carrie has a point. Personally, I would hate to have missed seeing some of the world’s greatest sights that I’ve been privileged to see at home and abroad: The Grand Canyon, Machu Picchu, The Eiffel Tower, Petra, Crater Lake, Masada, The Forum, Mt. St. Helens, The Liberty Bell, Old Ironsides, Dunrobin Castle, and Bartolome Island to name a few. I would have hated to miss meeting the wonderful people I’ve had the privilege of meeting on many of the world’s continents. I can’t forget the culture and sights I’ve been privileged to see right at home when I’ve visited each of our 50 states. You just can’t get to many, and have sufficient time to spend there without flying.
I think most people can fly healthy and without stress, if they allow themselves the chance. I hope that I can help people do that with straightforward suggestions which have worked well for me, family and friends, and many travelers with whom I have had the chance to converse over the years, as a traveler myself, and a journalist.
I do hope people won’t forget the wonderful travel opportunities they have closer to home too. Many of us have gems nearby, but ignore them. Maybe your suggestion will peak their interest to not overlook locations closer to home.
I agree flying is something akin to Chinese water torture these days, but still, I hesitate to use that as a reason not to get out and around. The biggest mistake I see people make is that they try to pack too much into too tight a schedule while they’re vacationing – thus, getting hassled by security or having a flight delayed by weather creates stress in what should be a fun time. Just make a realistic schedule, and build time into your schedule to account for possible (some would say expected) delays, and it won’t really matter if you have to sit in an airport for a couple of extra hours. Usually, the destination on the other side is worth the wait.
That being said, if you want to avoid flying, why limit yourself to close to home? If you’re going somewhere within the U.S. or Canada, just burn a few extra days of vacation time and drive there instead. Yes, a weekend trip to California or Florida from Dallas stretches into a week, but I always have a great time seeing things on the way out there. Plus, you have a lot more flexibility once you get where you’re going if you have your own set of wheels.
MeanMeosh, I agree that forgoing flying does not necessarily mean sentencing oneself to a lifetime of stultifying staycations. The problem is that we live in a large country where small vacation allowances are the rule. Many of us just don’t have “a few extra days of vacation time” to burn. So flying becomes the only practical alternative to a staycation (or vice versa). That’s one reason the airline industry can get away with torturing its paying customers.
It all comes down to a personal decision about whether the “destination at the other side” is worth the ordeal of flying (which seems to be continuously getting worse). For some people, the answer is an immediate, unequivocal “yes.” Perhaps they’re inherently low-stress individuals. Or maybe they have a preternatural ability to transform every hassle into a delightful adventure, or advanced skills in using “a book and a smile” to glide gracefully through any travel difficulty. May their preferred deities bless them with long and happy lives.
But others, who lack those abilities or skills and may have had one too many bad experiences with airlines and/or the TSA, may decide that the benefits of air travel are not worth the stressful ordeal. Unfortunately, I’m in this category. Since there doesn’t seem to be anything I can do about the airlines and the TSA, I have reluctantly decided that “if I can’t get there in my car, I don’t go.” (I do not find the available Amtrak routes and schedules a practical alternative.)
That said, I am fortunate that I have enjoyed visiting places accessible only by air. My sadness and anger at the loss of that opportunity is tempered by the fact that I live in a place that offers so many interesting staycations; and also that (for the moment) I have enough vacation time to take driving trips around the country. I have to take those road trips by myself while I wait for my friends to accrue enough vacation time to join me, but solo travel offers its own heady blend of pleasures and challenges to anyone open to experiencing them.
The point of all this is simply to remind readers that there are alternatives to the increasingly stressful ordeal of air travel. Those alternatives may not always be practical or desirable, but they’re always worth considering when planning vacations. Contrary to what the airlines and the TSA would like us to believe, we have no obligation or duty to accept what they inflict on us. And choosing to “just say no” may offer an ideal solution to the continually increasing stress of air travel.
the “Hydrate while flying to help prevent jet lag” is absolutely correct, but unfortunately it is not as easy as it sounds in our days … since it’s not allowed to take more than 100ml in a bottle to the airplane and when you travel in economy class you have to ask the stewardess constantly to get a drop of water … I hate that! I have to drink a lot, always, and everything i get is a very small mug of water … :/
the airline companies contradict theirselves when they tell you to drink a lot during a long flight but in the same way they don’t give you the opportunity to do it … so, where exactly is the sence?
well, sorry … but that’s a point that really annoys me when going by plain! ;)
Hi Palsen,
Thanks for your readership, and your comment. It’s definitely appreciated. While I can’t reply to everyone, I try to reply to a few.
While it’s true, because I travel a great deal, I generally fly up front (using miles to upgrade, or via a free upgrade due to elite status with the airline), I certainly “enjoy” economy accommodations on more than a few occasions every year, especially on those dreaded “express” routes, or on flights shorter than 2 hours.
I am unaware of a 100ml bottle size limit once you pass through security. Once we pass through security, my wife and I generally purchase a couple of half liter (17oz US) or larger bottles of water for the flight, even if we’re flying first or business class, in the airport. We just stuff them in our carry-ons.
I do understand your annoyance with the airlines about beverages. Many pour beverages for each economy passenger out of a can or bottle into a plastic cup, and then don’t give you the remainder, even on a transatlantic flight. As you said, they make you keep coming back for more. It makes no sense to me, but then much of what the airlines do these days make little sense to me.
Just go to one of the shops which sells magazines and sundries, plus water, that seem to proliferate most every airport and buy a bottle or two for the flight.
Regards,
Ned
TSA has totally made this list obsolete as I live in California and can drive to the most beautiful spots in the world. Flying was once fun but I can’t remember when anymore!
California and the surrounding states have marvelous places to visit for sure. That being said, I’d hate to miss out on the rest of the world, and even the East Coast of the US, if I lived on the West Coast.
“Don’t eat anything from street stands.”
I used to agree with this, at least in theory. Then, I visited Thailand. My travel guide said something to the effect of, “don’t eat from street stands,” and in the same paragraph, said that’s where you get the true local flavor and the best food! I “risked” it – my first experience involved chili smoke that burned my eyes, and an attempt to communicate in Thai (which I did not speak) – but it cost less than $1 and it was the best Thai food I have ever had. For two weeks, I almost exclusively ate street food.
I took another trip recently to a developing country, and same thing – street food ended up being the best!
I take ‘a Pepto a day’ while traveling for preventative purposes, and, knock on wood, have never had a problem.
I do agree with the water advice – I avoid local water religiously (including fruits/veggies that could be contaminated). I used to buy bottled water, but on a recent trip, I used chlorine dioxide tablets. It’s the same chemical used to treat your municipal water. REI sells 30 tablets (enough for 30L) for about $13. The downside is it takes 4 hrs to treat the water, but it kills everything. I fill up and treat my Camelbak at night, and I’m ready to go in the morning. (I also bring a small water bottle, so I have water in the evening while the other is being treated).