Do you have a love/hate relationship with travel? Many of us do. Because whether it’s to see an industry expert or your mother, travel can upend your schedule in unpredictable ways.
Even when time away is restorative, the process to get there rarely is. Unpredictable weather, packing and research consume time and precious energy. And traveling with kids, especially when they’re babies or toddlers, involves doing extra everything.
There are many conditions where where we feel forced to abandon ourselves and let self-care go. Travel is one of them. But there’s an opportunity to become intentional about your self care wherever life takes you. Especially as we wrap up professional events and head into the busiest season for personal travel.
Protect your Sleep Schedule
Okay, there’s always that ‘fly at 1 AM deal’ that’s half the price. And it’s tempting to save the money and just skip sleep especially when we’re in a down economy with rising costs. However, I’ve learned that sleep is not easy to recover, especially when you’re traveling. Away from your normal routine and bedroom, the conditions for sleep can be dynamic. Like street noise in a bustling city, vocal hotel neighbors or barking dogs staying with family.
Basically, your sleep can be disrupted for a multitude of reasons beyond the travel itself. So, choosing to protect your normal schedule is an investment worth making. Double that if you’re traveling with kids. Because dragging exhausted kiddos through airports, train stations, or highway rest stops isn’t good for anybody. ‘
Consider Time Zone Changes
If you’re traveling across time zones factor in your needs not only during the trip but when you arrive. For example, if you take an overnight flight and arrive early morning, your hotel probably won’t let you check in until late afternoon local time. After hours of disrupted airplane seat naps, it can be a harsh surprise. So, if possible, book a room the night before. Especially for an overseas trip.
If it’s a family trip, your children may need more time to adjust. Of course this depends on their ages and independence. When my oldest was a toddler, every trip to the West coast meant a few days of disrupted sleep there and another 2 weeks after we returned. Although it was unpopular, after that epiphany, I decided to drop family trips in different time zones for a while.
Be Strategic with Non-Sleep Rest
Until I interviewed Dr. Shelby Harris, Sleep Psychologist and mom of 3, I’ll admit I had no idea that non-sleep rest was something to prioritize. Now, I’m acutely aware of it and build it in throughout the day.
It’s okay to enjoy five minutes of quiet between Zoom calls. You can sit or lie down for a few minutes with your eyes closed. Or as child Psychologist Dr. Caroline Danda recommends, pause and take a deep breath before moving to your next activity. It provides your brain and nervous system with a critical reset that improves sleep quality at night.
Create Space for Micro-Breaks
Of course, taking pauses of any kind is much more difficult when you’re traveling with family. It can even be a challenge when traveling for work, but five minutes is not a lot of minutes. You can take a mini break in the bathroom with the door closed. It really does not have to be extensive to be effective.
Protect your Nutrition
Food is my favorite hobby so, I’m not saying don’t enjoy that beautiful chocolate tart or savor that café latte after your morning croissant. I am saying, however, that basics like hydration, sufficient protein, and nutrients from whole foods, become more important when quality sleep is at a premium and you’re in a new environment.
Choose your Fuel Wisely
If you’re pushing past your normal levels of alert activity (i.e. think back-to-back meetings or 10-hour conference days) ensure that fresh vegetables, especially greens (or whatever is appropriate for your health) are part of your mealtime. I learned from Sue-Ellen Anderson Hayes that there are foods that help promote sleep, like bell peppers, broccoli and other vitamin C rich options.
Yes, Even Someplace with Bad Food
If you’re forced to eat in an airport or train station without healthier options, which is unavoidable at times, have a mental short list of what’s best for you to eat. Ideally, options that are not heavily processed that you can turn to. Like that respectable looking chicken salad under the bright lights, or those hard-boiled eggs.
You know what I’m talking about. Find the least terrible thing that you can tolerate. For example, yes, you can make that so-so granola work with some plain Greek yogurt. Or navigate to the highest protein and lowest chemical granola bar available and break it up into plain yogurt.
Skip Things that Won’t Taste Good Anyway
If you must eat a full meal in an airport or airplane, then skip that stale looking piece of bread, ditto for that dry, ultra-processed cookie that you don’t really want anyway. Look for high antioxidant options like almonds, walnuts or sources of lean protein like turkey or beans.
And try to find natural sources of pre or probiotics to support your immune system. In addition to yogurt, keffir, sauerkraut, kimchi or other pickled vegetables, are options.
Keep Taking your Vitamins and Supplements
Don’t skip any of your immunity-boosting-health-preserving activities you’ve honed while you’re away. And as Dr. Leena Pradhan-Nabzdyk shared, high-quality supplements can help when you’re forced to grab quick meals. Bring your green juice, or protein mix or whatever it is that you normally have at home. Just scoop them into a small, travel-friendly container. I sometimes use the empty prescription bottles with the labels removed to travel with powdered nutritional supplements.
Schedule Time for Fun
It’s generally easier on a business trip to schedule something enjoyable, you’re less likely to do at home. Especially if you’re traveling solo and not as part of a group. It doesn’t have to be exotic, like zip lining through the rainforest either. Although if you get the opportunity, absolutely do something fun like that!
I often meet up with childhood friends when I’m away. And there have been business trips where I’ve gone ice skating, seen Broadway shows, and read books that were previously sitting on my nightstand for months.
And Keep Movement on the Calendar
If you’re on a family trip, it can easily turn into a couple of weeks of managing extra housework in an unfamiliar space. Or eating a foods you don’t like and skipping workouts. So, plan ahead to avoid all of that. Claim healing time within the context of the larger trip.
If you’re traveling with a set budget, keep your mental energy in mind as a cost of travel. If you rent an apartment or house, if possible choose accommodations where someone else is cleaning. Or arrange for equitable sharing of that work in advance. Otherwise, book a family-friendly hotel even if it’s less space it might be more relaxing.
Create a schedule that’s compatible with your self-care routines. If you really love hot yoga and found a studio in the city you’re visiting, great. Put it on the calendar and tell everybody you’re with that you’re going at X times on Z days. If your love of tennis isn’t compatible with Chicago in January then, find an indoor alternative. Or pivot to a nice brisk bundled up walk, run or indoor workout.
Set Expectations and if Needed, Navigate Childcare in Advance
Before you leave, have conversations with family members or colleagues if it’s that kind of work trip, about your availability. Does your boss really need to see you over breakfast or can you prep for that meeting together the day before? A 7:00 am breakfast meeting is probably not what anybody wants.
If you’re on a family trip, you can choose to get childcare coverage, if needed to do something you find memorable or healing while you’re away. One year, when my son was a baby my sister and brother-in-law watched him for the whole night so my husband and I could go to a nice restaurant and get more sleep.
So, whether that’s a long overdue date night with your partner, afternoon tea with your mom, or a dance class, plan to make it possible.
Getting outside of your normal environment, can reignite clarity and joy so, make sure self-care isn’t an after thought. And go have fun on that next trip!
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