This post is has been written in partnership with Maty’s Healthy Products. All opinions are my own
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I’m a professional stand-up comedian.
That means I probably spend more time away from home than you. Every weekend I’m off in another city, state, or country slinging jokes to the masses. I spend too much time in my car, and breathe the recirculated oxygen of an airplane cabin more often than I’d like.
Staying healthy can be a challenge. The worst thing I can do is pick up some bug while on the road and bring it home to my family. I have young children; a daughter age four, and a two-year-old son. If they get sick, they can’t go to daycare. If they miss daycare and I’m gone, my wife cannot go to work. That’s a problem, so I do everything I can dodge illness while touring.
With the holiday travel season coming up—chances are you will be traveling somewhere, sometimes with kids or other family members in tow.
Here are a few tips that I have found keep me healthy—and hopefully they will help you while going hither-and-dither to visit friends and family.
1. Drink More Water
Water is the most important thing you can put into your body. When on an airplane, dehydration occurs—but it can also happen on long car rides, especially if you haven’t prepared for the trip ahead of time. When you’re dehydrated, your immune system is compromised. Attempting to replenish using soda or juice puts too much sugar into your system. Clean, pure water improves skin tone, blood flow, and digestion. When your blood is flowing and you’re digesting food properly, your body is firing on more cylinders and better able to attack disease.
2. Stretch
What’s the first thing cats and dogs do upon waking up? They stretch. What do people do? They just get up and start moving around. The human body is an amazing mix of resilience and fragility. It’s delicate. When you drive or fly, your body is cramped into an unnatural space; to just “walk it off” doesn’t allow your muscles to recalibrate. You need to stretch your muscles, and give your body the chance it needs to recover. No matter where you are traveling to, who you are traveling with, stretching can be incorporated into your holiday plans. I have found I’m not only happier and healthier when I stretch—I’m funnier too. Try it to see how much holiday cheer you can bring with you before you arrive!
3. Exercise
Humans aren’t made to be sedentary. Maybe we all can’t run marathons, but it’s healthier for joints and muscles to be used, and active. In my travels as a comedian, I’ve had to learn how to work more exercise into every trip I take. Most hotels have a rudimentary fitness room. More often than not, they have a broken elliptical, and a couple free weights, but something is better than nothing. You can walk the hallways, or climb up and down the steps in the stairwell—I’ve done both.
If visiting friends, get outside and get some steps in. Think about exercising before and after holiday meals. Make it fun, make it social. Be the leader for family activities—don’t wait for someone else to suggest them. Your body will thank you for it, as will your immune system. Active people get sick less often than couch commanders.
4. Eat Well
By that, I don’t mean “eat up,” I mean eat healthy. Enjoy your holiday meals, but make sure all the meals leading up to them are full of good choices. Yes, it’s easier to hit the drive thru or snack bars rather than to pack an apple or banana, but it’s no secret fast food isn’t good for you. If your body is busy trying to figure out how to digest a food byproduct you just ate, it might not be up to fighting off a disease.
5. Sleep
Sleep is like your body’s hospital; it’s when you recover from all you put yourself through. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul. Sometimes sleeping in a new bed—hotel or relatives—isn’t the most comfortable. When you’re well rested, you stand a better chance of avoiding the sniffles. Sleep is good.
6. Plan further ahead
Here is the thing about all of these tips. They take some degree of planning ahead. Many times, when traveling, we are so busy up til the time we are ready to leave that we don’t take the few simple steps that could keep us healthier—and the entire trip more fun and rewarding. So think ahead about how you will schedule exercise in while you are away, pack healthy foods or make good choices, find ways of having water with you at all times, think about what helps you get a good night sleep and how you can make that happen. And don’t forget to stretch!
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There’s one more thing you can do to stay healthy, and it’s important: if you feel a cold coming on, don’t grab what’s easy, grab what’s right. When you’re not feeling well, the two most important things are feeling better, and getting healthy using healthy methods.
Maty’s Healthy Products fit both of those needs.
Here’s a great tip: When on an airplane, rub a little Natural Vapor Rub under your nose. The air won’t smell as stale, and your lungs are breathing in eucalyptus, not a “special petroleum.” It’s a natural immune function booster.
This goes right into the “plan ahead” bucket. It’s the little things you can prepare ahead of time to make your travels easier and smoother.
Speaking of planning ahead—it never hurts to prepare for the cough or sore throat that might happen despite all of the preventative measures you take. Maty’s Organic Cough Syrup is safe and effective way to soothe your sore throat. Bonus: it tastes good. It’s a soothing elixir that feels good going down, helps to end that cough, and allows for peaceful slumber.
(Remember #5? Sleep. You need it.)
And finally—consider a “Healing Kit”. You can win one at Maty’s just by entering your information on their contest page here. It’s a great way to stop stressing about getting sick and start planning for getting well.
The best part of all of Maty’s products is that they are full of honest ingredients. It’s all of nature’s cures in easy-to-take form, with no chemicals.
You and your family can supplement your health with peace of mind. You’ll know you’re doing actual good, not giving them something that will be labeled a carcinogenic in fifteen years. And hey, the products are made in America. Quality, healthy and effective products that help the economy… Who wouldn’t support that?
Find out more about Maty’s at matyshealthyproducts.com. You’ll be glad you did.
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Happy travels!