Business travel can be a rewarding and interesting experience. With that being said, lots of business travellers find it difficult to stay healthy away from home. Here are some useful tips if you travel and want to find the time to stay in shape.
1 – Walk
If you have a meeting scheduled within walking distance of your hotel, try walking instead of getting a taxi or taking public transport. Walking is proven to reduce stress, raise metabolic rate and improve mood, all of which can help normalise your routine during a hectic travel itinerary. By walking, you’ll also get a unique perspective on the place you’re visiting which you’d have missed by using public or private transport.
2 – Stay hydrated
Dehydration is a common problem experienced by business travellers. Long hours in-transit and irregular sleep patterns make it difficult to consume water on a consistent basis. The more hydrated you are, the less of an impact travel will have on you. Be sure to always carry a water bottle with you. The average person needs two litres of water every day, though you should certainly drink more than that if you’re dealing with the added stresses of business travel.
3 – Make sleep a priority
A lack of sleep is one of the main downfalls of any type of travel. Though it can sometimes be challenging to set aside time for rest as you travel for work, making sleep a priority will pay off in the form of greater mental clarity and increased energy for the important tasks you need to accomplish before heading home. Some tips for better sleep on the road include avoiding caffeine in the hours leading up to your time for rest, turning off all digital screens as you get ready for bed and using a sleep mask to block out distracting light.
4 – Keep Healthy Snacks With You
Eating unhealthy foods while travelling is convenient, but the more you can avoid doing so, the better you’ll feel long-term. The best method for avoiding poor eating habits on the road is keeping healthy snacks available at all times. Whenever you start to feel like you want to eat unhealthy food, simply eat something such as carrots and hummus, a piece of fruit, nuts, oatcakes or a piece of cheese to alleviate your hunger and get you re-focused on the task at hand.
5 – Wash your hands often
Falling ill on a trip is the surest way to ruin it. Avoiding sickness on the road is only possible if you wash your hands throughout your day, as travelling puts you in contact with lots of new places and people, and in turn, new germs and bacteria. Be sure to keep some hand sanitiser with you at all times.
In summary
These are just some of the many effective ways to stay healthy as you travel for business. By staying hydrated, going for walks, washing your hands regularly, getting quality sleep and replacing unhealthy snacks with nutritious ones, your health will not only stay intact as you travel but will improve steadily over time.
Four Business Solutions
Four Business Solutions helps small and multi-national organisations enrich the way they work. From supply chain to procurement and contract management, we have decades of experience helping companies forge ahead in the global market. If you’d like to find out more please call John O’Brien at Four Business Solutions on 0800 6250 025.
John O’Brien is the CEO at Four Business Solutions, global business consultants and software integrators providing business processes improvements in Finance, Supply Chain & Operations, across a broad range of industries.
