10 Ways to Stay Healthy While Traveling

Thank you for joining me today. It's Brian Gubernick, and welcome to the No Days Off podcast, where we believe that every day brings a new opportunity to get better. Better business, better at our health, better at our relationships, just better at life. So let's get into today's topic. Today is going to be an interesting one. I would like to talk about how to stay healthy while we're traveling. See, we're getting close to summertime. In some places like where I live, it's already 95, 100 degrees on the regular, and school's about to be out, and we're going to start traveling some more. In addition, many industries like real estate, we're about to start the, the travel season for conferences and masterminds and different events. So odds are many of us are going to be traveling a bit more coming up here in the coming months than we have been over the past couple. And so I want to talk about the things that we could be doing to make certain we stay healthy while traveling. And I went to my buddy and life advice, health advice doc, Dr. John Thoma, and asked him, John, what should I be doing to make sure that I stay healthy while I'm traveling? Now, John is quite out there every now and again, but I'll tell you what, this list of 10 things that he gave me, he gave it to me years ago, and I try my best to honor it, and knock on wood, I'd like to think I remain pretty healthy while traveling. So let's get right into the list, the things that we can do to remain healthy while traveling, and by the way, why is this important? Well, if you want to get better every single day, and that's what we preach here at the No Days Off Movement, you've got to be healthy, right? We got to be the healthiest version of ourselves in order to maximize or take advantage of all of life's opportunities. So how we are behaving and how we're living at home, how we're behaving and living on the road, these things impact the greater picture, which is longevity, growth, success for not just days, weeks, months, but years and decades. So let's get into the top 10, okay? Number 1, rule number 1, when traveling, control your thoughts when things don't go according to plan. Now, this one kind of sounds obvious, but here's the scoop. I don't know about you when you're traveling, but when I travel, lots of things can go sideways. Flights get canceled, things get delayed, Arrangements get changed, conferences get moved, all different sorts of things happen. If I'm traveling with family, maybe there's additional stress with more of us on the road together versus me being all by myself. Whatever the case, we have to control our thoughts. And I think that for most of us, and we'll do a whole separate episode on this, but for many of us, controlling our thoughts actually has a lot to do with managing our breath, figuring out a different way to breathe and calm ourselves. Now, one thing that I like to use is the 4-7-8 4-7-8 breathing technique. 4-7-8, 4 being inhale for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. This is from Dr. Andrew Weil, who teaches the 4-7-8 method. That's been a super effective one for me. And again, when traveling, remaining calm, controlling our thoughts, super, super important because our thoughts and stress impact our health. Number 2, when flying, it's going to sound crazy, but do what Dr. John would call 4th grade arm circles. Like, remember when you were in PE and PE classes in elementary school and you would do huge arm circles as a warm-up? Do that. And do hip circles and stretch and move. Again, you're going to look like a maniac, but when you're on a plane, do these things and increase circulation and blood flow. See, when you sit on a plane for 2, 3, 6 hours at a time and you sit in the same spot, maybe getting up once or twice to use the bathroom, that's not good for your body. It's not. So get up, stretch out, look weird, doesn't matter. If you are in the middle seat or on the window, be that guy, be that passenger. So be it. Odds are you're not seeing these people again anyways. Sounds strange, but it will help you feel better when you land and beyond. Number 3, obey your circadian rhythm. Again, circadian rhythm, another thing we'll talk about on a different episode, but time your travels when the sun is up, especially if you're heading east. If you're going from west to east, make sure that you avoid afternoon and evening flights that get you to your destination after sunset. You especially want to avoid red-eye flights. Because circadian rhythm matters, right? If you're going to bed at a certain time every night, you know, ideally not too long after the sun sets, or you're waking up at sunrise, and you throw that rhythm off, your body is going to feel dramatically different. That's why— that's one of the reasons why so many of us have jet lag when we go one direction or the other, because our circadian rhythm is all jacked up. So do your best to honor it by flying during daylight hours. Number 4, when you get to your destination, again, another outside of the box idea, but when you get there, find a grassy area and stand in it barefoot and ground. Another episode, grounding and earthing, we'll talk about it here in not too long from today, but know that standing in the grass, grounding, earthing, or even just on cement barefoot, what that helps you do is get rid of all that man-made EMF, that electromagnetic force that you had massive exposure to while on this metal tube flying through the sky using all sorts of technology and everybody was on their phone or the computer on Wi-Fi. Sounds funny, but I swear to you it makes a difference. Number 5, after you land, fast, don't eat, especially if you land after sunset. Fasting really, really will help your cells gain health again, as they're used to getting rid of sick mitochondria. So aid your healthy cell process by fasting. Let the cell do the work. Don't overload it. And there's all different science behind this. But fasting after you land and not eating, if you land especially after sunset, is a fantastic thing to do. Next. If you can, be sure to catch sunrise the next morning after your travels, especially if you're changing time zones. Again, light is a major controller of your circadian rhythm, and the quicker we can get back in rhythm, the better we're going to feel. So try to watch that sunrise, wake up with that sunrise, be part of it, get outside, maybe get some morning light. It will definitely aid and speed up the recovery from whatever jet lag you may have. Next, number 7, before your flight or while in air, search for a Whole Foods that's nearby where you're going. Now, I know I'm crazy about this sort of thing, but when I go, when I fly into most areas, you will find that I will go find a health food store or Whole Foods, and I'm gonna buy food for those days or that week or whatever it's gonna be. Because yes, I care about what I'm eating, but I especially care about not eating garbage that I'm gonna be exposed to foods that I'm not accustomed to eating, and so I want to control my diet. I want to control my food a bit more, so I do go and buy food and stick it in the fridge in the hotel. I will go so far as to request a refrigerator to be in my hotel room. Again, I know I'm crazy, but I want to remain healthy while I'm on the road. This is super important, which leads to number 8. If you're getting a Vrbo or an Airbnb, get one with a kitchen, okay? If you're visiting family or friends, take over their kitchen, super rude, but control your food environment, right? So take it over, make sure you're eating what is in line with what you traditionally eat. Eat healthy because again, you're exposed to all these different things on the road. You have to maintain peak health if you don't want to get sick or you want to feel better and you're dealing with all these other things. I mean, food is such an important component of all of it. Keep in mind also that going out to eat and going to these restaurants and having the oils and all these random things that rest— sure, once in a while, all good. Going to dinner at a restaurant every single night like we do at real estate conferences and things like that, not the best thing for you. Number 9, do your best to maintain your fitness routine. If you're a runner, keep running. If you lift weights, go to the hotel gym. Whatever you're doing, remain active. Do not use your travel as an excuse to fall off from your training, your fitness routine. And lastly, number 10, when you travel, when you're exposed to lots of EMF, when you have jet lag and your circadian rhythm's off, this is a recipe for flu and other illnesses. So go ahead and have the occasional cheat food, but be careful not to overindulge. See, not just go to restaurants, you know, we're gonna be exposed to some of that, but don't overindulge. Don't start having that dessert you don't traditionally have, right? Remember, your cells are up against the ropes with less sun because you're inside or whatever it may be in the travel. So let's do the best we can to get things back in order, okay? Little longer today. I hope you enjoyed this list, especially if you're hitting the road. The focusing question for you, what 1 or 2 or 3 things from this list can you add into your travel routine that will make you feel a little bit better and help you maintain your health? So when you get back home, you're right back in the swing of things. That's all I have for you today, the No Days Off Podcast. Thank you so much for listening. And remember, every single day brings a new opportunity to get better. So let's get after it. Thank you.