Whether for vacation or business, some people equate their hotel stay as an opportunity to indulge in some not-so-healthy habits. Keeping up with your healthy lifestyle while traveling is actually quite simple if you research what’s available to you and stay committed to your goals. (Or at least the baseline of them, anyway!)
We pulled together five healthy travel tips for the next time you travel from the comfort of your home to the hotel of your choice.
1. Healthy Living Starts with Sleep
The hands-down most important advice to help you maintain your health while traveling is to make sure you’re able to get the sleep your body needs. Traveling can be taxing on both your mind and body. Between airports, long drives and stress, you can’t afford to sleep less than you normally would at home. This means you should try to turn off the TV when it gets too late and prioritize your healthy immune system over another episode of your favorite show. The more you set yourself back, the harder it will be to feel refreshed.
If you have trouble sleeping in a “foreign” place, check with your hotel to see what they offer that will make it a little easier to turn off your mind and get the sleep you need. Blackout curtains, quality mattresses and bedding or relaxing bathtubs can all help you unwind and get to sleep faster.
2. Remember Your Exercise Routine
It goes without saying, exercise is a key factor in healthy travel. It’s easy to forget the progress you made back home when you’re out of your element. The good news? A majority of hotels nowadays will provide some sort of exercise facility to help keep your routine. The fitness centers at most hotels are open 24/7, so time is not an issue. If you find yourself in a hotel that doesn’t have this amenity, it’s not hard to step outside and get a jog or a hike in! Plus it will give you an opportunity to explore a new place while doing your body a solid, as well.
3. Don’t Skip Breakfast
They don’t call breakfast the most important meal of the day for nothing—you need to eat it! Breakfast is essential to starting your day off on the healthy foot and providing you with the strength to get yourself going. Many hotels provide some sort of breakfast option; from bagels and coffee to a hot breakfast with eggs and bacon. Either way, getting a meal in early is essential to healthy travel, so make sure you know when it’s offered, and try not to skip it. Sleep in too late and miss breakfast, or don’t have time to stop? Plan ahead and pack a high-protein breakfast bar in your travel bag for a healthy option on-the-go.
4. Eat Healthy
It’s not enough to only eat a healthy breakfast, but trying to make healthy choices throughout the day can make a big difference. We know it’s hard to eat healthy while you’re on vacation, or on a work trip that requires a lot of late hours and weird eating times, but bear with us. This doesn’t mean you can’t indulge in some of the local fare or treat yourself to something you normally wouldn’t. But being mindful of your options and choosing healthy more times than not can definitely take you far. Here are some additional tips for eating healthy while traveling:
- Pack healthy snack foods. This will keep you from turning to quick, greasy alternatives when you’re left hungry at a business meeting, or looking for a late night snack at the hotel.
- Do your research. If your hotel doesn’t have healthy food options, or food options at all; pack some of your meals or look for restaurants in close proximity to your hotel.
- Plan, plan, plan. If you’re like the rest of us, you probably plan your days around when you’re going to eat. So do the same thing, but with what you’re going to eat! Find the times when it’s easy to choose healthy and those times when it’s worth it to you to indulge.
5. Enjoy the Amenities
Last but not least, chill out. Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and that means limiting stress. Traveling can be filled with incredible experiences, and that also means it can come with stressful situations. Hotel amenities are there to help alleviate some of that, so take advantage of them. Keep in mind things like a free airport shuttle, hot breakfast, and housekeeping services to lighten your load and look out for benefits like saltwater pools and hot tubs to enjoy some luxuries as well!
Enjoy your Stay!
Overall, it’s important not to neglect your health when traveling and to take advantage of the ways your hotel can keep you healthy through your travels. Just don’t forget to let loose and have fun, too! Whatever the reason for your travels, your hotel is meant to serve as your temporary home.
At the Oasis, we have designed our hotel in a way that immediately encourages you to unwind and relax. A tropical atmosphere and amenities that will dissolve all your worries away, will help you de-stress and truly enjoy yourself. We offer amenities such as indoor and outdoor saltwater pools, a business center, laundry, a 24-hour gift shop with all the essentials, and so much more, so that you’re never left worrying about things you wouldn’t worry about back home.
